U6 polymerase III promoter and methods of use

ABSTRACT

The disclosure relates to gene expression regulatory sequences, specifically to the promoter of a U6 polymerase III gene and fragments thereof and their use in promoting the expression of one or more heterologous nucleic acid fragments in plants. The invention further discloses compositions, polynucleotide constructs, transformed host cells, mutated plants, transgenic plants and seeds containing the recombinant construct with the promoter, and methods for preparing and using the same.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a Continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.14/913,630 filed 22 Feb. 2016, now allowed as U.S. Pat. No. 10,519,457on Dec. 31, 2019, which is a 371 National Stage Entry of InternationalPatent Application No. PCT/US14/51782 filed 20 Aug. 2014, which claimsthe benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/868,706, filed Aug.22, 2013, U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 61/882,532, filed Sep.25, 2013, U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/937,045, filed Feb. 7,2014, and U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/023,239, filed Jul. 11,2014; all of which are hereby incorporated herein in their entireties byreference.

FIELD

The disclosure relates to the field of plant molecular biology, inparticular, to methods for altering the genome of a plant cell.

REFERENCE TO SEQUENCE LISTING SUBMITTED ELECTRONICALLY

The official copy of the sequence listing is submitted electronicallyvia EFS-Web as an ASCII formatted sequence listing with a file namedBB2450USPCN_SeqLst_ST25.txt created on 22 Aug. 2019 and having a size of569,412 byes and is filed concurrently with the specification. Thesequence listing contained in this ASCII formatted document is part ofthe specification and is herein incorporated by reference in itsentirety.

BACKGROUND

Recent advances in plant genetic engineering have opened new doors toengineer plants to have improved characteristics or traits, such asplant disease resistance, insect resistance, herbicidal resistance,yield improvement, improvement of the nutritional quality of the edibleportions of the plant, and enhanced stability or shelf-life of theultimate consumer product obtained from the plants. Thus, a desired gene(or genes) with the molecular function to impart different or improvedcharacteristics or qualities can be incorporated properly into theplant's genome. The newly integrated gene (or genes) coding sequence canthen be expressed in the plant cell to exhibit the desired new trait orcharacteristic. It is important that appropriate regulatory signals bepresent in proper configurations in order to obtain the expression ofthe newly inserted gene coding sequence in the plant cell. Theseregulatory signals typically include a promoter region, a 5′non-translated leader sequence and a 3′ transcriptiontermination/polyadenylation sequence.

A promoter is a non-coding genomic DNA sequence, usually upstream (5′)to the relevant coding sequence, to which RNA polymerase binds beforeinitiating transcription. This binding aligns the RNA polymerase so thattranscription will initiate at a specific transcription initiation site.The nucleotide sequence of the promoter determines the nature of the RNApolymerase binding and other related protein factors that attach to theRNA polymerase and/or promoter, and the rate of RNA synthesis.

It has been shown that certain promoters are able to direct RNAsynthesis at a higher rate than others. These are called “strongpromoters”. Certain other promoters have been shown to direct RNAsynthesis at higher levels only in particular types of cells or tissuesand are often referred to as “tissue specific promoters”, or“tissue-preferred promoters”, if the promoters direct RNA synthesispreferentially in certain tissues (RNA synthesis may occur in othertissues at reduced levels). Since patterns of expression of anucleotides of interest introduced into a plant are controlled usingpromoters, there is an ongoing interest in the isolation of novelpromoters that are capable of controlling the expression of nucleotidesof interest at certain levels in specific tissue types or at specificplant developmental stages.

Certain promoters are able to direct RNA synthesis at relatively similarlevels across all tissues of a plant. These are called “constitutivepromoters” or “tissue-independent” promoters. Constitutive promoters canbe divided into strong, moderate and weak according to theireffectiveness to direct RNA synthesis. Since it is necessary in manycases to simultaneously express a polynucleotide of interest such as butnot limited to a chimeric gene (or genes) in different tissues of aplant to get the desired functions of the gene (or genes), constitutivepromoters are especially useful in this consideration. Though manyconstitutive promoters have been discovered from plants and plantviruses and characterized, there is still an ongoing interest in theisolation of more novel constitutive promoters which are capable ofcontrolling the expression of a chimeric gene or (genes) at differentlevels and the expression of multiple genes in the same transgenic plantfor gene stacking.

BRIEF SUMMARY

This disclosure concerns a recombinant DNA construct comprising anucleotide sequence comprising any of the sequences set forth in SEQ IDNO: 120 or SEQ ID NO: 295, or a functional fragment thereof, operablylinked to at least one heterologous sequence, wherein said nucleotidesequence is a promoter.

In one embodiment, the disclosure concerns a recombinant DNA construct,wherein the nucleotide sequence has at least 95% identity, based on theClustal V method of alignment with pairwise alignment default parameters(KTUPLE=2, GAP PENALTY=5, WINDOW=4 and DIAGONALS SAVED=4), when comparedto the sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO:120 or SEQ IDNO: 295.

In one embodiment, the disclosure concerns a vector comprising saidrecombinant DNA construct.

In one embodiment, the disclosure concerns a cell comprising saidrecombinant DNA construct of claim 1. The cell can be a plant cell.

In one embodiment, the disclosure concerns a transgenic plant havingstably incorporated into its genome said recombinant DNA construct. Thetransgenic plant can be a dicot plant, such as but not limited to asoybean plant.

In one embodiment, the disclosure concerns a transgenic seed produced bya transgenic plant, wherein the transgenic seed comprises saidrecombinant DNA construct.

In one embodiment, the disclosure concerns a recombinant DNA constructwherein the at least one heterologous sequence codes for a gene selectedfrom the group consisting of: a reporter gene, a selection marker, adisease resistance conferring gene, a herbicide resistance conferringgene, an insect resistance conferring gene; a gene involved incarbohydrate metabolism, a gene involved in fatty acid metabolism, agene involved in amino acid metabolism, a gene involved in plantdevelopment, a gene involved in plant growth regulation, a gene involvedin yield improvement, a gene involved in drought resistance, a geneinvolved in cold resistance, a gene involved in heat resistance and agene involved in salt resistance in plants.

In one embodiment, the disclosure concerns a recombinant DNA constructof, wherein the at least one heterologous sequence encodes a proteinselected from the group consisting of: a reporter protein, a selectionmarker, a protein conferring disease resistance, protein conferringherbicide resistance, protein conferring insect resistance; proteininvolved in carbohydrate metabolism, protein involved in fatty acidmetabolism, protein involved in amino acid metabolism, protein involvedin plant development, protein involved in plant growth regulation,protein involved in yield improvement, protein involved in droughtresistance, protein involved in cold resistance, protein involved inheat resistance and protein involved in salt resistance in plants.

In one embodiment, the disclosure concerns a method of expressing acoding sequence or a functional RNA in a plant comprising: a)introducing the recombinant DNA construct of claim A1 into the plant,wherein the at least one heterologous sequence comprises a codingsequence or encodes a functional RNA; b) growing the plant of step a);and c) selecting a plant displaying expression of the coding sequence orthe functional RNA of the recombinant DNA construct.

In one embodiment, the disclosure concerns a method of transgenicallyaltering a marketable plant trait, comprising: a) introducing arecombinant DNA construct of claim A1 into the plant; b) growing afertile, mature plant resulting from step a); and c) selecting a plantexpressing the at least one heterologous sequence in at least one planttissue based on the altered marketable trait. The marketable trait canbe selected from the group consisting of: disease resistance, herbicideresistance, insect resistance carbohydrate metabolism, fatty acidmetabolism, amino acid metabolism, plant development, plant growthregulation, yield improvement, drought resistance, cold resistance, heatresistance, and salt resistance.

In one embodiment, the disclosure concerns a method for alteringexpression of at least one heterologous sequence in a plant comprising:(a) transforming a plant cell with the recombinant DNA construct ofclaim 1; (b) growing fertile mature plants from transformed plant cellof step (a); and (c) selecting plants containing the transformed plantcell wherein the expression of the heterologous sequence is increased ordecreased.

In one embodiment, the disclosure concerns a plant stably transformedwith a recombinant DNA construct comprising a soybean promoter and aheterologous nucleic acid fragment operably linked to said promoter,wherein said promoter is a capable of controlling expression of saidheterologous nucleic acid fragment in a plant cell, and further whereinsaid promoter comprises any of the sequences set forth in SEQ ID NO: 120or SEQ ID NO: 295.

Additional embodiments of the methods and compositions of the presentdisclosure are shown herein.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS AND THE SEQUENCE LISTING

The disclosure can be more fully understood from the following detaileddescription and the accompanying drawings and Sequence Listing, whichform a part of this application. The sequence descriptions and sequencelisting attached hereto comply with the rules governing nucleotide andamino acid sequence disclosures in patent applications as set forth in37 C.F.R. §§ 1.821-1.825. The sequence descriptions contain the threeletter codes for amino acids as defined in 37 C.F.R. §§ 1.821-1.825,which are incorporated herein by reference.

FIGURES

FIG. 1A shows a maize optimized Cas9 gene (encoding a Cas9 endonuclease)containing a potato ST-LS1 intron, a SV40 amino terminal nuclearlocalization sequence (NLS), and a VirD2 carboxyl terminal NLS, operablylinked to a plant ubiquitin promoter (SEQ ID NO: 5). The maize optimizedCas9 gene (just Cas9 coding sequence, no NLSs) corresponds to nucleotidepositions 2037-2411 and 2601-6329 of SEQ ID NO: 5 with the potato intronresiding at positions 2412-2600 of SEQ ID NO: 5.SV40 NLS is at positions2010-2036 of SEQ ID NO: 5. VirD2 NLS is at positions 6330-6386 of SEQ IDNO: 5. FIG. 1B shows a long guide RNA operably linked to a maize U6polymerase III promoter terminating with a maize U6 terminator (SEQ IDNO: 12). The long guide RNA containing the variable targeting domaincorresponding to the maize LIGCas-3 target site (SEQ ID NO: 8) istranscribed from/corresponds to positions 1001-1094 of SEQ ID NO: 12.FIG. 1C shows the maize optimized Cas9 and long guide RNA expressioncassettes combined on a single vector DNA (SEQ ID NO: 102).

FIG. 2A illustrates the duplexed crRNA (SEQ ID NO:6)-tracrRNA (SEQ IDNO:7)/Cas9 endonuclease system and target DNA complex relative to theappropriately oriented PAM sequence at the maize LIGCas-3 (SEQ ID NO:18, Table 1) target site with triangles pointing towards the expectedsite of cleavage on both sense and anti-sense DNA strands. FIG. 2Billustrates the guide RNA/Cas9 endonuclease complex interacting with thegenomic target site relative to the appropriately oriented PAM sequence(GGA) at the maize genomic LIGCas-3 target site (SEQ ID NO:18, Table 1).The guide RNA (shown as boxed-in in light gray, SEQ ID NO:8) is a fusionbetween a crRNA and tracrRNA and comprises a variable targeting domainthat is complementary to one DNA strand of the double strand DNA genomictarget site. The Cas9 endonuclease is shown in dark gray. Trianglespoint towards the expected site of DNA cleavage on both sense andanti-sense DNA strands. The sense genome sequence shown in FIGS. 2A and2B is listed in SEQ ID NO: 551, while the complementary genome sequenceshown in FIGS. 2A and 2B is listed in SEQ ID NO: 552.

FIG. 3A-3B shows an alignment and count of the top 10 most frequent NHEJmutations induced by the maize optimized guide RNA/Cas endonucleasesystem described herein compared to a LIG3-4 homing endonuclease controlat the maize genomic Liguleless 1 locus. The mutations were identifiedby deep sequencing. The reference sequence represents the unmodifiedlocus with each target site underlined. The PAM sequence and expectedsite of cleavage are also indicated. Deletions or insertions as a resultof imperfect NHEJ are shown by a “-” or an italicized underlinednucleotide, respectively. FIG. 3A: The reference and mutations 1-10 ofthe LIGCas-1 target site correspond to SEQ ID NOs: 55-65, respectively.The reference and mutations 1-10 of the LIGCas-2 correspond to SEQ IDNOs: 55, 65-75, respectively. FIG. 3B: The reference and mutations 1-10of the LIGCas-3 correspond to SEQ ID NOs: 76-86, respectively. Thereference and mutations 1-10 of the LIG3-4 homing endonuclease targetsite correspond to SEQ ID NOs: 76, 87-96, respectively.

FIG. 4 illustrates how the homologous recombination (HR) repair DNAvector (SEQ ID NO: 97) was constructed. To promote site-specifictransgene insertion by homologous recombination, the transgene (shown inlight gray) was flanked on either side by approximately 1 kb of DNA withhomology to the maize genomic regions immediately adjacent to theLIGCas3 and LIG3-4 homing endonuclease expected sites of cleavage.

FIG. 5 illustrates how genomic DNA extracted from stable transformantswas screened for site-specific transgene insertion by PCR. Genomicprimers (corresponding to SEQ ID NOs: 98 and 101) within the Liguleless1 locus were designed outside of the regions used in constructing the HRrepair DNA vector (SEQ ID NO: 97) and were paired with primers insidethe transgene (corresponding to SEQ ID NOs: 99 and 100) to facilitatePCR detection of unique genomic DNA junctions created by appropriatelyoriented site-specific transgene integration.

FIG. 6 shows an alignment of the NHEJ mutations induced by the maizeoptimized guide RNA/Cas endonuclease system, described herein, when theshort guide RNA was delivered directly as RNA. The mutations wereidentified by deep sequencing. The reference illustrates the unmodifiedlocus with the genomic target site underlined. The PAM sequence andexpected site of cleavage are also indicated. Deletions or insertions asa result of imperfect NHEJ are shown by a “-” or an italicizedunderlined nucleotide, respectively. The reference and mutations 1-6 for55CasRNA-1 correspond to SEQ ID NOs: 104-110, respectively.

FIG. 7 shows the QC782 vector comprising the Cas9 expression cassette.

FIG. 8A shows the QC783 vector comprising the guide RNA expressioncassette. FIG. 8B show the DNA sequence (coding sequence) of the DD43CR1(20 bp) variable targeting domain of the guide RNA, as well as theterminator sequence linked to the guide RNA. The 20 bp variabletargeting domain DD43CR1 is in bold. The sequence shown in FIG. 8B islisted in SEQ ID NO: 553.

FIG. 9 shows the map of a linked soybean optimized Cas9 and guide RNAconstruct QC815.

FIG. 10A shows the DD20 soybean locus on chromosome 4 and the DD20CR1and DD20CR2 genomic target sites (indicated by bold arrows). The sensesequence shown in FIG. 10A is listed in SEQ ID NO: 554 and thecomplementary sequence shown in FIG. 10A is listed in SEQ ID NO: 555.FIG. 10B shows the DD43 soybean locus on chromosome 4 and the DD43CR1and DD43CR2 genomic target sites (indicated by bold arrows). The sensesequence shown in FIG. 10B is listed in SEQ ID NO: 556 and thecomplementary sequence shown in FIG. 10B is listed in SEQ ID NO: 557.

FIG. 11A-11D. Alignments of expected target site sequences with mutanttarget sequences detected in four guide RNAs induced NHEJ experiments.FIG. 11A shows the DD20CR1 PCR amplicon (reference sequence, SEQ IDNO:142, genomic target site is underlined) and the 10 mutations (SEQ IDNOs: 147-156) induced by the guideRNA/Cas endonuclease system at theDD20CR1 genomic target site. FIG. 11B shows the DD20CR2 PCR amplicon(reference sequence, SEQ ID NO:143) and the 10 mutations (SEQ ID NOs157-166) induced by the guide RNA/Cas endonuclease system at the DD20CR2genomic target site. FIG. 11C shows the DD43CR1 PCR amplicon (referencesequence, SEQ ID NO:144) and the 10 mutations (SEQ ID NOs:167-176)induced by the guide RNA/Cas endonuclease system at the DD43CR1 genomictarget site. FIG. 11D shows the DD43CR2 PCR amplicon (referencesequence, SEQ ID NO:145) and the 10 mutations (SEQ ID NOs: 177-191)induced by the guide RNA/Cas endonuclease system at the DD43CR2 genomictarget site. The target sequences corresponding different guide RNAs areunderlined. Each nucleotide deletions is indicated by “-”. Inserted andreplaced sequences are in bold. The total number of each mutant sequenceis listed in the last column.

FIG. 12A-12B shows a schematic representation of the guide RNA/Casendonuclease system used for editing a nucleotide sequence of interest.To enable specific nucleotide editing, a polynucleotide modificationtemplate that includes at least one nucleotide modification (whencompared to the nucleotide sequence to be edited) is introduced into acell together with the guide RNA and Cas endonuclease expressioncassettes. For example, as shown herein, the nucleotide sequence to beedited is an endogenous wild type enolpyruvylshikimate-3-phosphatesynthase (EPSPS) gene in maize cells. The Cas endonuclease (shadedcircle) is a maize optimized Cas9 endonuclease that cleaves a moCas9target sequence within the epsps genomic locus using a guide RNA of SEQID NO:194. FIG. 12-A shows a polynucleotide modification template thatincludes three nucleotide modifications (when compared to the wild typeepsps locus depicted in FIG. 12-B) flanked by two homology regions HR-1and HR-2. FIG. 12-B shows the guide RNA/maize optimized Cas9endonuclease complex interacting with the epsps locus. The originalnucleotide codons of the EPSPS gene that needed to be edited are show asaCT and Cca (FIG. 12-B). The nucleotide codons with modified nucleotides(shown in capitals) are shown as aTC and Tca (FIG. 12-B).

FIG. 13 shows a diagram of a maize optimized Cas9 endonucleaseexpression cassette. The bacterial cas9 coding sequence was codonoptimized for expression in maize cells and supplemented with the ST-LS1potato intron (moCas9 coding sequence, SEQ ID NO: 193). A DNA fragmentencoding the SV40 nuclear localization signal (NLS) was fused to the5′-end of the moCas9 coding sequence. A maize ubiquitin promoter (Ubipromoter) and its cognate intron (ubi intron) provided controllingelements for the expression of moCas9 in maize cells. The pinIItranscription termination sequence (pinII) completed the maize moCAS9gene design.

FIG. 14 shows some examples of the moCas9 target sequence (underlined),located on EPSPS DNA fragments, mutagenized by the introduction ofdouble-strand breaks at the cleavage site of the moCas9 endonuclease(thick arrow) in maize cells. In SEQ ID NO: 206, three nucleotides weredeleted (dashes) next to the moCas9 cleavage site. SEQ ID NOs: 207-208indicate that the nucleotide deletion can expand beyond the moCAs9cleavage site

FIG. 15 depicts an EPSPS template vector used for delivery of the EPSPSpolynucleotide modification template containing the three TIPSnucleotide modifications. The EPSP polynucleotide modification templateincludes a partial fragment of the EPSPS gene. The vector was 6,475 bpin length and consisted of two homology regions to the epsps locus(epsps-HR1 and epsps-HR2). Two Gateway cloning sites (ATTL4 and ATTL3),an antibiotic resistance gene (KAN), and the pUC origin of replication(PUC ORI) completed synthesis of the EPSPS template vector1.

FIG. 16 illustrates the PCR-based screening strategy for theidentification of maize events with TIPS nucleotide modifications inmaize cells. Two pairs of PCR primers were used to amplify the genomicfragments of the epsps locus (upper section). Both of them contained theTIPS specific primers (an arrow with a dot indicating the site of thethree TIPS modifications). The shorter fragment (780 bp F-E2) wasproduced by amplification of the EPSPS polynucleotide modificationtemplate fragment (template detection). The amplified EPSPSpolynucleotide modification template fragment was found in all but 4analyzed events (panel F-E2). The longer fragment (839 bp H-T) wasproduced by amplification of the genomic EPSPS sequence providing thatthe epsps locus contained the three nucleotide modifications responsiblefor the TIPS modifications. Six events were identified as containing thethree nucleotide modifications (panel H-T). The white arrows point toevents that contain both the amplified EPSPS polynucleotide modificationtemplate and the nucleotide modifications responsible for the TIPSmodification.

FIG. 17A shows a schematic diagram of the PCR protocol used to identifyedited EPSPS DNA fragments in selected events. A partial genomicfragment, comprising parts of Exon1, Intron 1 and Exon2 of the epspslocus, was amplified regardless of the editing product (panel A, 1050 bpF-E3). The amplification products, representing only partial EPSPS genesequences having one or more mutations, were cloned and sequenced. FIG.17-B shows 2 examples of sequenced amplification products. In someamplification products, the epsps nucleotides and the moCas9 targetsequence (underlined) were unchanged indicating that one EPSPS allelewas not edited (wild type allele; SEQ ID NO: 210). In otheramplification products, three specific nucleotide substitutions(representing the TIPS modifications) were identified with no mutationsat the moCas9 target sequence (underlined) (SEQ ID NO: 209).

FIG. 18 shows the location of MHP14, TS8, TS9 and TS10 loci comprisingtarget sites for the guide RNA/Cas endonuclease system near trait A(located at 53.14 cM) on chromosome 1 of maize.

FIG. 19A shows the location of the MHP14Cas1 maize genomic targetsequence (SEQ ID NO: 229) and the MSP14Cas-3 maize genomic targetsequence (SEQ ID NO: 230) on the MHP14 maize genomic DNA locus onchromosome1. The 5′ to 3′ sequence. FIG. 19B shows the location of theTS8Cas-1 (SEQ ID NO: 231) and TS8Cas-2 (SEQ ID NO: 232) maize genomictarget sequences located on the TS8 locus. FIG. 19-C shows the locationof the TS9Cas-2 (SEQ ID NO: 233) and TS9Cas-3 (SEQ ID NO: 234) maizegenomic target sequences located on the TS8 locus. FIG. 19-D shows thelocation of the TS10Cas-1 (SEQ ID NO: 235), and TS10Cas-3 (SEQ ID NO:236) maize genomic target sequences located on the TS10 locus. All thesemaize genomic target sites are recognized are recognized and cleaved bya guide RNA/Cas endonuclease system described herein. Each maize genomictarget sequence (indicated by an arrow) is highlighted in bold andfollowed by the NGG PAM sequence shown boxed in.

FIG. 20 shows a schematic of a donor DNA (also referred to as HR repairDNA) comprising a transgene cassette with a selectable marker(phosphomannose isomerase, depicted in grey), flanked by homologousrecombination sequences (HR1 and HR2) of about 0.5 to 1 kb in length,used to introduce the transgene cassette into a genomic target site forthe guide RNA/Cas endonuclease system.

The arrows indicate the sections of the genomic DNA sequence on eitherside of the endonuclease cleavage site that corresponds to thehomologous regions of the donor DNA. This schematic is representativefor homologous recombination occurring at any one of the 8 target sites(4 loci) located on chromosome 1 from 51.54cM to 54.56cM in maizegenome.

FIG. 21 shows the junction PCR screen for identification of insertionevents. Primer 1 and 2 located on the transgene donor are common for alltarget sites. Primer TSHR1f is located on the genomic region outside ofthe homologous sequence HR1. Primer combination THR1f/primer1 amplifyjunction 1. Primer TSHR2r is located on the genomic region outside ofthe HR2 region. Primer combination primer2/TSHR2r amplify junction 2.

FIG. 22 shows a junction PCR screen for identification of insertionevents at the TS10Cas10 locus. A gel picture indicates the presence ofinsertion events at the TS10Cas10-1 target site (lane 02 A1). PCRreaction of HR1 and HR2 junction loaded next to each other (lane02-white label and lane 02-gray label), with white label representingHR1 junction PCR, gray label representing HR2 junction PCR.

FIG. 23A-B. DNA expression cassettes used in gRNA/Cas9 mediated genomemodification experiments. FIG. 23A) The Cas9 endonuclease cassette(EF1A2:CAS9) comprising a soybean EF1A2 promoter (GM-EF1A2 PRO) drivingthe soybean codon optimized Cas9 endonucleases (CAS9(SO), a soybeanoptimized SV40 nuclear localization signal (SV40 NLS(SO)) and a PINIIterminator (PINII TERM) was linked to a guide RNA expression cassette(U6-9.1:DD20CR1, comprising a soybean U6 promoter driving the DD20CR1guide RNA) used in experiment U6-9.1DD20CR1 (Table 27). Other GuideRNA/Cas9 cassettes listed in Table 27 are identical except for the 20 bpvariable targeting domains of the guide RNA targeting the genomic targetsites DD20CR2, DD43CR1, or DD43CR2. FIG. 23B) The donor DNA cassette(DD20HR1-SAMS:HPT-DD20HR2) used in experiment U6-9.1DD20CR1 (Table 27).DD20HR1 and DD20HR2 homologous DNA regions between the donor DNAcassette and the genomic DNA sequences flanking the DD20 target site).Other Donor DNA cassettes listed in Table 27 are identical except forthe DD43HR1 and DD43HR2 regions in two of them.

FIG. 24A-C. DD20 and DD43 soybean genomic target sites locations andqPCR amplicons. FIG. 24 A) Diagram of Glycine max chromosome 04indicating relative positions of DD20 and DD43 target sites. Geneticmapping positions of DD20 and DD43 sites are the positions of the mostnearby genes Glyma04g39780.1 and Glyma04g39550.1. FIG. 24 B) DD20 qPCR64 bp amplicon 45936307-45936370 from chromosome 04 (SEQ ID NO: 304).Relative positions of the target sites DD20-CR1 and DD20-CR2, qPCRprimers and probe DD20-F, DD20-R, and DD20-T are marked. FIG. 24 C) DD43qPCR 115 bp amplicon 45731879-45731993 from chromosome 04 (SEQ ID NO:305). Relative positions of the target sites DD43-CR1 and DD43-CR2, qPCRprimers and probe DD43-F2, DD43-F, DD43-R, and DD43-T are marked.

FIG. 25A-C. Schematic of guide RNA/Cas9 system mediated site-specificnon-homologous end joining (NHEJ) and transgene insertion via homologousrecombination (HR) at DD20CR1 site. FIG. 25A) Soybean plants areco-transformed with guide RNA/Cas9 and donor DNA cassettes as listed inTable 27. The DD20CR1 guide RNA/Cas9 complex transcribed from the linkedguide RNA/Cas9 DNA cassettes will cleave specifically the DD20CR1 targetsite on chromosome 04 to make DNA double strand breaks. The breaks canbe repaired spontaneously as NHEJs or repaired as a HR event by thedonor DNA facilitated by the flanking homologous regions DD20-HR1 andDD20HR2. FIG. 25B) NHEJs are detected by DD20-specific qPCR and themutated sequences are assessed by sequencing cloned HR1-HR2 PCRfragments. FIG. 25C) HR events are revealed by two border-specific PCRanalyses HR1-SAMS and NOS-HR2, noting that the primers are only able toamplify DNA recombined between the DD20CR1 region of chromosome 04 andthe donor DNA. Guide RNA/Cas9 mediated NHEJ and HR at DD20-CR2 sitefollow the same process except for using DD20-CR2 guide RNA. GuideRNA/Cas9 mediated site-specific NHEJ and HR at DD43CR1 and DD43CR2 sitesfollow the same process except for using guide RNA and homologousregions specific to the DD43 sites.

FIG. 26A-C. Sequences of gRNA/Cas9 system mediated NHEJs. Only 60 bpsequences surrounding the genomic target site shown in bold case arealigned to show the mutations. The PAM sequence is shown boxed in.Insertion sequences are indicated by symbol A marking the insertionposition followed by the size of the insert. Actual insertion sequencesare listed in the sequences listing. FIG. 26A) U6-9.1 DD20CR1 sequences.Three colonies were sequenced for each of 54 events from experimentU6-9.1 DD20CR1. A total of 150 sequences were returned, of which 26 werefound to be short unique deletions while 2 of the events contained smallinsertions. FIG. 26B) U6-9.1 DD20CR2 sequences. Three colonies weresequenced for each of 28 events from experiment U6-9.1 DD20CR2. A totalof 84 sequences were returned, of which 20 were found to be short uniquedeletions while 1 of the events contained a single bp insertion. FIG.26C) U6-9.1 DD43CR1 sequences. Three colonies were sequenced for each of46 events from experiment U6-9.1 DD43CR1. A total of 132 sequences werereturned, of which 18 were found to be short unique deletions while 10of the events contained small insertions. FIG. 26D) U6-9.1 DD43CR2sequences.

FIG. 27A-C shows the ten most prevalent types of NHEJ mutationsrecovered based on the crRNA/tracrRNA/Cas endonuclease system. FIG. 27Ashows NHEJ mutations for LIGCas-1 target site, corresponding to SEQ IDNOs: 415-424), FIG. 27B shows NHEJ mutations for LIGCas-2 target sitecorresponding to SEQ ID NOs: 425-434) and FIG. 27V shows NHEJ mutations(for LIGCas-3 target site corresponding to SEQ ID NOs: 435-444).

FIG. 28. Schematic representation of Zm-GOS2 PRO:GOS2 INTRON insertionin the 5′-UTR of maize ARGOS8 gene by targeting the guide RNA/Cas9target sequence 1 (CTS1, SEQ ID NO: 1) with the gRNA1/Cas9 endonucleasesystem, described herein. HR1 and HR2 indicate homologous recombinationregions.

FIG. 29A-29C. Identification and analysis of Zm-GOS2 PRO:GOS2 INTRONinsertion events in maize plants. (FIG. 29A) Schematic representation ofZm-GOS2 PRO:GOS2 INTRON insertion in the 5′-UTR of Zm-ARGOS8. CTS1 wastargeted with the gRNA1/Cas9 endonuclease system, described herein. HR1and HR2 indicate homologous recombination regions. P1 to P4 indicate PCRprimers. (FIG. 29B) PCR screening of PMI-resistance calli to identifyinsertion events. PCR results are shown for 13 representative calli. Theleft and right junction PCRs were carried out with the primer pair P1+P2and P3+P4, respectively. (FIG. 29C) PCR analysis of a T0 plant. A PCRproduct with the expected size (2.4 kb, Lane T0) was amplified with theprimer P3 and P4.

FIG. 30. Schematic representation of Zm-ARGOS8 promoter substitutionwith Zm-GOS2 PRO:GOS2 INTRON by targeting CTS3 (SEQ ID NO: 3) and CTS2(SEQ ID NO:2). HR1 and HR2 indicate homologous recombination regions.

FIG. 31A-31D. Substitution of the native promoter of the ARGOS8 genewith Zm-GOS2 PRO:GOS2 INTRON in maize plants. (FIG. 31A) Schematicrepresentation of the Zm-GOS2 PRO:GOS2 INTRON:ARGOS8 allele generated bypromoter swap. Two guide RNA/Cas9 target sites, CTS3 (SEQ ID NO:3) andCTS2 (SEQ ID NO:2), were targeted with a gRNA3/gRNA2/Cas9 system. HR1and HR2 indicate homologous recombination regions. P1 to P5 indicate PCRprimers. (FIG. 31B) PCR screening of PMI-resistance calli to identifyswap events. PCR results are shown for 10 representative calli. Onecallus sample, 12A09, is positive for both left junction (L, primerP1+P2) and right junction (ft primer P5+P4) PCR, indicating that 12A09is a swap event. (FIG. 31C) PCR analysis of the callus events identifiedin primary screening. PCR products with the expected size (2.4 kb) wereamplified using the primer P3 and P4 from event #3, 4, 6, 8 and 9,indicating presence of the Zm-GOS2 PRO:GOS2 INTRON:ARGOS8 allele. (FIG.31D) PCR analysis of a T0 plant. A PCR product with the expected size(2.4 kb, Lane T0) was amplified with the primer P3 and P4.

FIG. 32A-32B. Deletion of the native promoter of the ARGOS8 gene inmaize plants. (FIG. 32A) Schematic representation of promoter deletion.Two guide RNA's and a Cas9 endonuclease system, referred to as agRNA3/gRNA2/Cas9 system, were used to target the CTS3 and CTS2 sites inZm-ARGOS8. P1 and P4 indicate PCR primers for deletion event screening.(FIG. 32B) PCR screening of PMI-resistance calli to identify deletionevents. PCR results are shown for 15 representative calli. A 1.1-kp PCRproduct indicates deletion of the CTS3/CTS2 fragment.

FIG. 33. Schematic representation of enhancer element deletions usingthe guide RNA/Cas9 target sequence. The enhancer element to be deletedcan be, but is not limited to, a 35S enhancer element.

FIG. 34A-C. Modification of a maize EPSPS polyubiquitination site. (FIG.34A) The selected maize EPSPS polyubiquitination site is compared to theanalogous sites of other plant species (SEQ ID NOs: 558-563). (FIG. 34B)The nucleotides to be edited in the maize EPSPS coding sequence(underlined, encoded amino acid shown in bold). The sequence shown inFIG. 34B is listed in SEQ ID NO: 564 (FIG. 34C) The edited EPSPS codingsequence identified in the selected T0 plant. The sequence shown in FIG.34C is listed in SEQ ID NO: 565.

FIG. 35A-C. The intron mediated enhanced element (FIG. 35A). The 5′section of the first intron of the EPSPS gene (editing: substitutionsunderlined and deletions represented by dots) (FIG. 35B) and its editedversion conferring three IMEs elements (underlined). The editednucleotides are shown in bold (FIG. 35C). The sequence shown in FIG. 35Bis listed in SEQ ID NO: 566. The sequence shown in FIG. 35C is listed inSEQ ID NO: 567.

FIG. 36A-36B. Alternatively spliced EPSPS mRNA in maize cells. (FIG.36A) left panel represents analysis of EPSPS cDNA. The lane I4 in FIG.36A shows amplification of the EPSPS pre-mRNA containing the 3^(rd)intron unspliced (the 804bp diagnostic fragment as shown in FIG. 36 Bindicates an alternate splicing event). Lanes E3 and F8 show the EPSPSPCR amplified fragments with spliced introns. These diagnostic fragmentsare not amplified unless cDNA is synthesized (as is evident by theabsence of bands in lanes E3, I4, and F8 comprising total RNA (shown inthe total RNA panel on right of FIG. 36A). The grey boxes in FIG. 36Brepresent the eight EPSPS exons (their sizes are indicated above each ofthem).

FIG. 37. Splicing site at the junction between the second EPSPS intronand the third exon (bolded). The nucleotide to be edited is underlined.

FIG. 38. Schematic representation of Southern hybridization analysis ofT0 and T1 maize plants.

SEQUENCES

SEQ ID NO: 1 is the nucleotide sequence of the Cas9 gene fromStreptococcus pyogenes M1 GAS (SF370).

SEQ ID NO: 2 is the nucleotide sequence of the potato ST-LS1 intron.

SEQ ID NO: 3 is the amino acid sequence of SV40 amino N-terminal.

SEQ ID NO: 4 is the amino acid sequence of Agrobacterium tumefaciensbipartite VirD2 T-DNA border endonuclease carboxyl terminal.

SEQ ID NO: 5 is the nucleotide sequence of an expression cassetteexpressing the maize optimized Cas9.

SEQ ID NO: 6 is the nucleotide sequence of crRNA containing the LIGCas-3target sequence in the variable targeting domain.

SEQ ID NO: 7 is the nucleotide sequence of the tracrRNA.

SEQ ID NO: 8 is the nucleotide sequence of a long guide RNA containingthe LIGCas-3 target sequence in the variable targeting domain.

SEQ ID NO: 9 is the nucleotide sequence of the Chromosome 8 maize U6polymerase III promoter.

SEQ ID NO: 10 list two copies of the nucleotide sequence of the maize U6polymerase III terminator.

SEQ ID NO: 11 is the nucleotide sequence of the maize optimized shortguide RNA containing the LIGCas-3 variable targeting domain.

SEQ ID NO: 12 is the nucleotide sequence of the maize optimized longguide RNA expression cassette containing the LIGCas-3 variable targetingdomain.

SEQ ID NO: 13 is the nucleotide sequence of the Maize genomic targetsite MS26Cas-1 plus PAM sequence.

SEQ ID NO: 14 is the nucleotide sequence of the Maize genomic targetsite MS26Cas-2 plus PAM sequence.

SEQ ID NO: 15 is the nucleotide sequence of the Maize genomic targetsite MS26Cas-3 plus PAM sequence.

SEQ ID NO: 16 is the nucleotide sequence of the Maize genomic targetsite LIGCas-2 plus PAM sequence.

SEQ ID NO: 17 is the nucleotide sequence of the Maize genomic targetsite LIGCas-3 plus PAM sequence.

SEQ ID NO: 18 is the nucleotide sequence of the Maize genomic targetsite LIGCas-4 plus PAM sequence.

SEQ ID NO: 19 is the nucleotide sequence of the Maize genomic targetsite MS45Cas-1 plus PAM sequence.

SEQ ID NO: 20 is the nucleotide sequence of the Maize genomic targetsite MS45Cas-2 plus PAM sequence.

SEQ ID NO: 21 is the nucleotide sequence of the Maize genomic targetsite MS45Cas-3 plus PAM sequence.

SEQ ID NO: 22 is the nucleotide sequence of the Maize genomic targetsite ALSCas-1 plus PAM sequence.

SEQ ID NO: 23 is the nucleotide sequence of the Maize genomic targetsite ALSCas-2 plus PAM sequence.

SEQ ID NO: 24 is the nucleotide sequence of the Maize genomic targetsite ALSCas-3 plus PAM sequence.

SEQ ID NO: 25 is the nucleotide sequence of the Maize genomic targetsite EPSPSCas-1 plus PAM sequence.

SEQ ID NO: 26 is the nucleotide sequence of the Maize genomic targetsite EPSPSCas-2 plus PAM sequence.

SEQ ID NO: 27 is the nucleotide sequence of the Maize genomic targetsite EPSPSCas-3 plus PAM sequence.

SEQ ID NOs: 28-52 are the nucleotide sequence of target site specificforward primers for primary PCR as shown in Table 2.

SEQ ID NO: 53 is the nucleotide sequence of the forward primer forsecondary PCR.

SEQ ID NO: 54 is the nucleotide sequence of Reverse primer for secondaryPCR

SEQ ID NO: 55 is the nucleotide sequence of the unmodified referencesequence for LIGCas-1 and LIGCas-2 locus.

SEQ ID NOs: 56-65 are the nucleotide sequences of mutations 1-10 forLIGCas-1.

SEQ ID NOs: 66-75 are the nucleotide sequences of mutations 1-10 forLIGCas-2.

SEQ ID NO: 76 is the nucleotide sequence of the unmodified referencesequence for the LIGCas-3 and LIG3-4 homing endonuclease locus.

SEQ ID NOs: 77-86 are the nucleotide sequences of mutations 1-10 forLIGCas-3.

SEQ ID NOs: 88-96 are the nucleotide sequences of mutations 1-10 forLIG3-4 homing endonuclease locus.

SEQ ID NO: 97 is the nucleotide sequence of a donor vector referred toas an HR Repair DNA.

SEQ ID NO: 98 is the nucleotide sequence of forward PCR primer forsite-specific transgene insertion at junction 1.

SEQ ID NO: 99 is the nucleotide sequence of reverse PCR primer forsite-specific transgene insertion at junction 1.

SEQ ID NO: 100 is the nucleotide sequence of forward PCR primer forsite-specific transgene insertion at junction 2.

SEQ ID NO: 101 is the nucleotide sequence of reverse PCR primer forsite-specific transgene insertion at junction 2.

SEQ ID NO: 102 is the nucleotide sequence of the linked Cas9endonuclease and LIGCas-3 long guide RNA expression cassettes

SEQ ID NO: 103 is the nucleotide sequence of Maize genomic target site55CasRNA-1 plus PAM sequence.

SEQ ID NO: 104 is the nucleotide sequence of the unmodified referencesequence for 55CasRNA-1 locus.

SEQ ID NOs: 105-110 are the nucleotide sequences of mutations 1-6 for55CasRNA-1.

SEQ ID NO: 111 is the nucleotide sequence of LIG3-4 homing endonucleasetarget site

SEQ ID NO: 112 is the nucleotide sequence of LIG3-4 homing endonucleasecoding sequence.

SEQ ID NO: 113 is the nucleotide sequence of the MS26++ homingendonuclease target site.

SEQ ID NO: 114 is the nucleotide sequence of MS26++ homing endonucleasecoding sequence

SEQ ID NO: 115 is the nucleotide sequence of the soybean codon optimizedCas9 gene.

SEQ ID NO: 116 is the nucleotide sequence of the soybean constitutivepromoter GM-EF1A2.

SEQ ID NO: 117 is the nucleotide sequence of linker SV40 NLS.

SEQ ID NO: 118 is the amino acid sequence of soybean optimized Cas9 witha SV40 NLS.

SEQ ID NO: 119 is the nucleotide sequence of vector QC782.

SEQ ID NO: 120 is the nucleotide sequence of soybean U6 polymerase IIIpromoter described herein, GM-U6-13.1 PRO.

SEQ ID NO: 121 is the nucleotide sequence of the guide RNA in FIG. 8B.

SEQ ID NO: 122 is the nucleotide sequence of vector QC783.

SEQ ID NO: 123 is the nucleotide sequence of vector QC815.

SEQ ID NO: 124 is the nucleotide sequence of a Cas9 endonuclease(cas9-2) from S. pyogenes.

SEQ ID NO: 125 is the nucleotide sequence of the DD20CR1 soybean targetsite

SEQ ID NO: 126 is the nucleotide sequence of the DD20CR2 soybean targetsite

SEQ ID NO: 127 is the nucleotide sequence of the DD43CR1 soybean targetsite

SEQ ID NO: 128 is the nucleotide sequence of the DD43CR2 soybean targetsite

SEQ ID NO: 129 is the nucleotide sequence of the DD20 sequence in FIG.10A.

SEQ ID NO: 130 is the nucleotide sequence of the DD20 sequencecomplementary in FIG. 10A.

SEQ ID NO: 131 is the nucleotide sequence of DD43 sequence.

SEQ ID NO: 132 is the nucleotide sequence of the DD43 complementarysequence.

SEQ ID NO: 133-141 are primer sequences.

SEQ ID NO: 142 is the nucleotide sequence of the DD20CR1 PCR amplicon.

SEQ ID NO: 143 is the nucleotide sequence of the DD20CR2 PCR amplicon.

SEQ ID NO: 144 is the nucleotide sequence of the DD43CR1 PCR amplicon.

SEQ ID NO: 145 is the nucleotide sequence of the DD43CR2 PCR amplicon.

SEQ ID NO: 146 is the nucleotide sequence of the DD43CR2 PCR amplicon.

SEQ ID NO: 147-156 are the nucleotide sequence of mutations 1 to 10 forthe DD20CR1 target site

SEQ ID NO: 157-166 are the nucleotide sequence of mutations 1 to 10 forthe DD20CR2 target site

SEQ ID NO: 167-176 are the nucleotide sequence of mutations 1 to 10 forthe DD43CR1 target site

SEQ ID NO: 177-191 are the nucleotide sequence of mutations 1 to 10 forthe DD43CR2 target site.

SEQ ID NO: 192 is the amino acid sequence of a maize optimized versionof the Cas9 protein.

SEQ ID NO: 193 is the nucleotide sequence of the maize optimized versionof the Cas9 gene of SEQ ID NO: 192.

SEQ ID NO: 194 is the DNA version of guide RNA (EPSPS sgRNA).

SEQ ID NO: 195 is the EPSPS polynucleotide modification template.

SEQ ID NO: 196 is a nucleotide fragment comprising the TIPS nucleotidemodifications.

SEQ ID NO: 197-204 are primer sequences shown in Table 15.

SEQ ID NO: 205-208 are nucleotide fragments shown in FIG. 14.

SEQ ID NO: 209 is an example of a TIPS edited EPSPS nucleotide sequencefragment shown in FIG. 17.

SEQ ID NO: 210 is an example of a Wild-type EPSPS nucleotide sequencefragment shown in FIG. 17.

SEQ ID NO: 211 is the nucleotide sequence of a maizeenolpyruvylshikimate-3-phosphate synthase (epsps) locus

SEQ ID NO: 212 is the nucleotide sequence of a Cas9 endonuclease(genbank CS571758.1) from S. thermophiles.

SEQ ID NO: 213 is the nucleotide sequence of a Cas9 endonuclease(genbank CS571770.1) from S. thermophiles.

SEQ ID NO: 214 is the nucleotide sequence of a Cas9 endonuclease(genbank CS571785.1) from S. agalactiae.

SEQ ID NO: 215 is the nucleotide sequence of a Cas9endonuclease,(genbank CS571790.1) from S. agalactiae.

SEQ ID NO: 216 is the nucleotide sequence of a Cas9 endonuclease(genbank CS571790.1) from S. mutant.

SEQ ID NOs: 217-228 are primer and probe nucleotide sequences describedin Example 17.

SEQ ID NOs: 229 is the nucleotide sequence of the MHP14Cas1 target site.

SEQ ID NOs: 230 is the nucleotide sequence of the MHP14Cas3 target site.

SEQ ID NOs: 231 is the nucleotide sequence of the TS8Cas1 target site.

SEQ ID NOs: 232 is the nucleotide sequence of the TS8Cas2 target site.

SEQ ID NOs: 233 is the nucleotide sequence of the TS9Cas2 target site.

SEQ ID NOs: 234 is the nucleotide sequence of the TS9Cas3 target site.

SEQ ID NOs: 235 is the nucleotide sequence of the TS10Cas1 target site.

SEQ ID NOs: 236 is the nucleotide sequence of the TS10Cas3 target site.

SEQ ID NOs: 237-244 are the nucleotide sequences shown in FIG. 19A-D.

SEQ ID NOs: 245-252 are the nucleotide sequences of the guide RNAexpression cassettes described in Example 18.

SEQ ID NOs: 253-260 are the nucleotide sequences of donor DNA expressioncassettes described in Example 18.

SEQ ID NOs: 261-270 are the nucleotide sequences of the primersdescribed in Example 18.

SEQ ID NOs: 271-294 are the nucleotide sequences of the primers andprobes described in Example 18.

SEQ ID NO: 295 is the nucleotide sequence of GM-U6-9.1 PRO, a soybean U6polymerase III promoter described herein.

SEQ ID NOs: 298, 300, 301 and 303 are the nucleotide sequences of thelinked guideRNA/Cas9 expression cassettes.

SEQ ID NOs: 299 and 302 are the nucleotide sequences of the donor DNAexpression cassettes.

SEQ ID NOs: 271-294 are the nucleotide sequences of the primers andprobes described in Example 18.

SEQ ID NO: 304 is the nucleotide sequence of the DD20 qPCR amplicon.

SEQ ID NO: 305 is the nucleotide sequence of the DD43 qPCR amplicon.

SEQ ID NOs: 306-328 are the nucleotide sequences of the primers andprobes described herein.

SEQ ID NOs: 329-334 are the nucleotide sequences of PCR ampliconsdescribed herein.

SEQ ID NO: 335 is the nucleotide sequence of a soybean genomic regioncomprising the DD20CR1 target site.

SEQ ID NO: 364 is the nucleotide sequence of a soybean genomic regioncomprising the DD20CR2 target site.

SEQ ID NO: 386 is the nucleotide sequence of a soybean genomic regioncomprising the DD43CR1 target site.

SEQ ID NOs: 336-363, 365-385 and 387-414 are the nucleotide sequences ofshown in FIG. 26A-C.

SEQ ID NOs: 415-444 are the nucleotide sequences of NHEJ mutationsrecovered based on the crRNA/tracrRNA/Cas endonuclease system shown inFIG. 27A-C.

SEQ ID NO: 445-447 are the nucleotide sequence of the LIGCas-1, LIGCas2and LIGCas3 crRNA expression cassettes, respectively.

SEQ ID NO: 448 is the nucleotide sequence of the tracrRNA expressioncassette.

SEQ ID NO: 449 is the nucleotide sequence of LIGCas-2 forward primer forprimary PCR

SEQ ID NO: 450 is the nucleotide sequence of LIGCas-3 forward primer forprimary PCR.

SEQ ID NO: 451 is the nucleotide sequence of the maize genomic Cas9endonuclease target site Zm-ARGOS8-CTS1.

SEQ ID NO: 452 is the nucleotide sequence of the maize genomic Cas9endonuclease target site Zm-ARGOS8-CTS2.

SEQ ID NO: 453 is the nucleotide sequence of the maize genomic Cas9endonuclease target site Zm-ARGOS8-CTS3

SEQ ID NOs: 454-458 are the nucleotide sequence of primers P1, P2, P3,P4, P5, respectively.

SEQ ID NO: 459 is the nucleotide sequence of a Primer Binding Site(PBS), a sequence to facilitate event screening.

SEQ ID NO: 460 is the nucleotide sequence of the Zm-GOS2 PRO-GOS2INTRON, the maize GOS2 promoter and GOS2 intron1 including the promoter,5′-UTR1, INTRON1 and 5′-UTR2.

SEQ ID NO:461 is the nucleotide sequence of the maize Zm-ARGOS8promoter.

SEQ ID NO:462 is the nucleotide sequence of the maize Zm-ARGOS8 5′-UTR.

SEQ ID NO:463 is the nucleotide sequence of the maize Zm-ARGOS8 codonsequence

SEQ ID NO:464 is the nucleotide sequence of the maize Zm-GOS2 gene,including promoter, 5′-UTR, CDS, 3′-UTR and introns.

SEQ ID NO:465 is the nucleotide sequence of the maize Zm-GOS2 PROpromoter.

SEQ ID NO:466 is the nucleotide sequence of the maize GOS2 INTRON, maizeGOS2 5′-UTR1 and intron1 and 5′-UTR2.

SEQ ID NOs: 467-468, 490-491, 503-504 are the nucleotide sequence of thesoybean genomic Cas endonuclease target sequences soy EPSPS-CR1, soyEPSPS-CR2, soy EPSPS-CR4, soy EPSPS-CR5, soy EPSPS-CR6, soyEPSPS-CR7,respectively

SEQ ID NO:469 is the nucleotide sequence of the soybean U6 small nuclearRNA promoter GM-U6-13.1.

SEQ ID NOs:470, 471 are the nucleotide sequences of the QC868, QC879plasmids, respectively.

SEQ ID NOs:472, 473, 492, 493, 494, 505, 506, 507 are the nucleotidesequences of the RTW1013A, RTW1012A, RTW1199, RTW1200, RTW1190A,RTW1201, RTW1202, RTW1192A respectively.

SEQ ID NOs:474-488, 495-402, 508-512 are the nucleotide sequences ofprimers and probes.

SEQ ID NO: 489 is the nucleotide sequence of the soybean codon optimizedCas9.

SEQ ID NO: 513 is the nucleotide sequence of the 35S enhancer.

SEQ ID NO: 514 is the nucleotide sequence of the 35S-CRTS for gRNA1 at163-181 (including pam at 3′end).

SEQ ID NO: 515 is the nucleotide sequence of the 35S-CRTS for gRNA2 at295-319 (including pam at 3′end).

SEQ ID NO: 516 is the nucleotide sequence of the 35S-CRT for gRNA3 at331-350 (including pam at 3′end).

SEQ ID NO: 517 is the nucleotide sequence of the EPSPS-K90R template.

SEQ ID NO: 518 is the nucleotide sequence of the EPSPS-IME template. S

SEQ ID NO: 519 is the nucleotide sequence of the EPSPS-Tsplicedtemplate.

SEQ ID NO: 520 is the amino acid sequence of ZM-RAP2.7 peptide

SEQ ID NO: 521 is the nucleotide sequence zM-RAP2.7 coding DNA sequence

SEQ ID NOs: 522 is the amino acid sequence of ZM-NPK1B peptide

SEQ ID NO: 523 is the nucleotide sequence of the ZM-NPK1 B coding DNAsequence

SEQ ID NOs: 524 is the nucleotide sequence of the RAB17 promoter

SEQ ID NOs: 525 is the amino acid sequence of the Maize FTM1.

SEQ ID NO: 526 is the nucleotide sequence of the Maize FTM1 coding DNAsequence.

SEQ ID NOs: 527-532 are the nucleotide sequences shown in FIGS. 34, 35and 37.

SEQ ID NOs: 533-534 are the nucleotide sequences of the Southern genomicprobe and Southern MoPAT probe of FIG. 38, respectively. SEQ ID NOs:535-541 are the nucleotide sequences of the RF-FPCas-1, RF-FPCas-2,ALSCas-4, ALS modification repair template 804, ALS modification repairtemplate 127, ALS Forward_primer and ALS Reverse_primer, respectively.

SEQ ID NOs: 542-549 are the nucleotide sequences of the soy ALS1-CR1,Cas9 target sequence, soy ALS2-CR2, Cas9 target sequence, QC880, QC881,RTW1026A, WOL900, Forward_primer, WOL578, Reverse_primer and WOL573,Forward_primer, respectively.

SEQ ID NO: 550 is the nucleotide sequence of a maize ALS protein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present disclosure includes compositions and methods for genomemodification of a target sequence in the genome of a plant or plantcell, for selecting plants, for gene editing, and for inserting apolynucleotide of interest into the genome of a plant. The methodsemploy a guide RNA/Cas endonuclease system, wherein the Cas endonucleaseis guided by the guide RNA to recognize and optionally introduce adouble strand break at a specific target site into the genome of a cell.The guide RNA/Cas endonuclease system provides for an effective systemfor modifying target sites within the genome of a plant, plant cell orseed. Further provided are methods and compositions employing a guidepolynucleotide/Cas endonuclease system to provide an effective systemfor modifying target sites within the genome of a cell and for editing anucleotide sequence in the genome of a cell. Once a genomic target siteis identified, a variety of methods can be employed to further modifythe target sites such that they contain a variety of polynucleotides ofinterest. Breeding methods utilizing a two component guide RNA/Casendonuclease system are also disclosed. Compositions and methods arealso provided for editing a nucleotide sequence in the genome of a cell.The nucleotide sequence to be edited (the nucleotide sequence ofinterest) can be located within or outside a target site that isrecognized by a Cas endonuclease.

CRISPR loci (Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats)(also known as SPIDRs—SPacer Interspersed Direct Repeats) constitute afamily of recently described DNA loci. CRISPR loci consist of short andhighly conserved DNA repeats (typically 24 to 40 bp, repeated from 1 to140 times—also referred to as CRISPR-repeats) which are partiallypalindromic. The repeated sequences (usually specific to a species) areinterspaced by variable sequences of constant length (typically 20 to 58by depending on the CRISPR locus (WO2007/025097 published Mar. 1, 2007).

CRISPR loci were first recognized in E. coli (Ishino et al. (1987) J.Bacterial. 169:5429-5433; Nakata et al. (1989) J. Bacterial.171:3553-3556). Similar interspersed short sequence repeats have beenidentified in Haloferax mediterranei, Streptococcus pyogenes, Anabaena,and Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Groenen et al. (1993) Mol. Microbiol.10:1057-1065; Hoe et al. (1999) Emerg. Infect. Dis. 5:254-263; Masepohlet al. (1996) Biochim. Biophys. Acta 1307:26-30; Mojica et al. (1995)Mol. Microbiol. 17:85-93). The CRISPR loci differ from other SSRs by thestructure of the repeats, which have been termed short regularly spacedrepeats (SRSRs) (Janssen et al. (2002) OMICS J. Integ. Biol. 6:23-33;Mojica et al. (2000) Mol. Microbiol. 36:244-246). The repeats are shortelements that occur in clusters, that are always regularly spaced byvariable sequences of constant length (Mojica et al. (2000) Mol.Microbiol. 36:244-246).

Cas gene includes a gene that is generally coupled, associated or closeto or in the vicinity of flanking CRISPR loci. The terms “Cas gene”,“CCRISPR-associated (Cas) gene” are used interchangeably herein. Acomprehensive review of the Cas protein family is presented in Haft etal. (2005) Computational Biology, PLoS Comput Biol 1(6): e60.doi:10.1371/journal.pcbi.0010060.

As described therein, 41 CRISPR-associated (Cas) gene families aredescribed, in addition to the four previously known gene families. Itshows that CRISPR systems belong to different classes, with differentrepeat patterns, sets of genes, and species ranges. The number of Casgenes at a given CRISPR locus can vary between species.

Cas endonuclease relates to a Cas protein encoded by a Cas gene, whereinsaid Cas protein is capable of introducing a double strand break into aDNA target sequence. The Cas endonuclease is guided by the guidepolynucleotide to recognize and optionally introduce a double strandbreak at a specific target site into the genome of a cell. As usedherein, the tem “guide polynucleotide/Cas endonuclease system” includesa complex of a Cas endonuclease and a guide polynucleotide that iscapable of introducing a double strand break into a DNA target sequence.The Cas endonuclease unwinds the DNA duplex in close proximity of thegenomic target site and cleaves both DNA strands upon recognition of atarget sequence by a guide RNA, but only if the correctprotospacer-adjacent motif (PAM) is approximately oriented at the 3′ endof the target sequence (FIG. 2A, FIG. 2B).

In one embodiment, the Cas endonuclease gene is a Cas9 endonuclease,such as but not limited to, Cas9 genes listed in SEQ ID NOs: 462, 474,489, 494, 499, 505, and 518 of WO2007/025097published Mar. 1, 2007, andincorporated herein by reference. In another embodiment, the Casendonuclease gene is plant, maize or soybean optimized Cas9 endonuclease(FIG. 1A). In another embodiment, the Cas endonuclease gene is operablylinked to a SV40 nuclear targeting signal upstream of the Cas codonregion and a bipartite VirD2 nuclear localization signal (Tinland et al.(1992) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 89:7442-6) downstream of the Cas codonregion.

In one embodiment, the Cas endonuclease gene is a Cas9 endonuclease geneof SEQ ID NO:1, 124, 212, 213, 214, 215, 216, 193 or nucleotides2037-6329 of SEQ ID NO:5, or any functional fragment or variant thereof.

The terms “functional fragment”, “fragment that is functionallyequivalent” and “functionally equivalent fragment” are usedinterchangeably herein. These terms refer to a portion or subsequence ofthe Cas endonuclease sequence of the present disclosure in which theability to create a double-strand break is retained.

The terms “functional variant”, “Variant that is functionallyequivalent” and “functionally equivalent variant” are usedinterchangeably herein. These terms refer to a variant of the Casendonuclease of the present disclosure in which the ability create adouble-strand break is retained. Fragments and variants can be obtainedvia methods such as site-directed mutagenesis and syntheticconstruction.

In one embodiment, the Cas endonuclease gene is a plant codon optimizedstreptococcus pyogenes Cas9 gene that can recognize any genomic sequenceof the form N(12-30)NGG can in principle be targeted.

In one embodiment, the Cas endonuclease is introduced directly into acell by any method known in the art, for example, but not limited totransient introduction methods, transfection and/or topical application.

Endonucleases are enzymes that cleave the phosphodiester bond within apolynucleotide chain, and include restriction endonucleases that cleaveDNA at specific sites without damaging the bases. Restrictionendonucleases include Type I, Type II, Type III, and Type IVendonucleases, which further include subtypes. In the Type I and TypeIII systems, both the methylase and restriction activities are containedin a single complex. Endonucleases also include meganucleases, alsoknown as homing endonucleases (HEases), which like restrictionendonucleases, bind and cut at a specific recognition site, however therecognition sites for meganucleases are typically longer, about 18 bp ormore.(patent application WO-PCT PCT/US12/30061 filed on Mar. 22, 2012)Meganucleases have been classified into four families based on conservedsequence motifs, the families are the LAGLIDADG, GIY-YIG, H-N-H, andHis-Cys box families. These motifs participate in the coordination ofmetal ions and hydrolysis of phosphodiester bonds. HEases are notablefor their long recognition sites, and for tolerating some sequencepolymorphisms in their DNA substrates. The naming convention formeganuclease is similar to the convention for other restrictionendonuclease. Meganucleases are also characterized by prefix F-, I-, orPI- for enzymes encoded by free-standing ORFs, introns, and inteins,respectively. One step in the recombination process involvespolynucleotide cleavage at or near the recognition site. This cleavingactivity can be used to produce a double-strand break. For reviews ofsite-specific recombinases and their recognition sites, see, Sauer(1994) Curr Op Biotechnol 5:521-7; and Sadowski (1993) FASEB 7:760-7. Insome examples the recombinase is from the Integrase or Resolvasefamilies.

TAL effector nucleases are a new class of sequence-specific nucleasesthat can be used to make double-strand breaks at specific targetsequences in the genome of a plant or other organism. (Miller et al.(2011) Nature Biotechnology 29:143-148). Zinc finger nucleases (ZFNs)are engineered double-strand break inducing agents comprised of a zincfinger DNA binding domain and a double-strand-break-inducing agentdomain. Recognition site specificity is conferred by the zinc fingerdomain, which typically comprising two, three, or four zinc fingers, forexample having a C2H2 structure, however other zinc finger structuresare known and have been engineered. Zinc finger domains are amenable fordesigning polypeptides which specifically bind a selected polynucleotiderecognition sequence. ZFNs include an engineered DNA-binding zinc fingerdomain linked to a non-specific endonuclease domain, for examplenuclease domain from a Type IIs endonuclease such as FokI. Additionalfunctionalities can be fused to the zinc-finger binding domain,including transcriptional activator domains, transcription repressordomains, and methylases. In some examples, dimerization of nucleasedomain is required for cleavage activity. Each zinc finger recognizesthree consecutive base pairs in the target DNA. For example, a 3 fingerdomain recognized a sequence of 9 contiguous nucleotides, with adimerization requirement of the nuclease, two sets of zinc fingertriplets are used to bind an 18 nucleotide recognition sequence.

Bacteria and archaea have evolved adaptive immune defenses termedclustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats(CRISPR)/CRISPR-associated (Cas) systems that use short RNA to directdegradation of foreign nucleic acids ((WO2007/025097published Mar. 1,2007). The type II CRISPR/Cas system from bacteria employs a crRNA andtracrRNA to guide the Cas endonuclease to its DNA target. The crRNA(CRISPR RNA) contains the region complementary to one strand of thedouble strand DNA target and base pairs with the tracrRNA(trans-activating CRISPR RNA) forming a RNA duplex that directs the Casendonuclease to cleave the DNA target (FIG. 2B).

As used herein, the term “guide RNA” includes a synthetic fusion of twoRNA molecules, a crRNA (CRISPR RNA) comprising a variable targetingdomain, and a tracrRNA (FIG. 2B). In one embodiment, the guide RNAcomprises a variable targeting domain of 12 to 30 nucleotide sequencesand a RNA fragment that can interact with a Cas endonuclease.

As used herein, the term “guide polynucleotide”, includes apolynucleotide sequence that can form a complex with a Cas endonucleaseand enables the Cas endonuclease to recognize and optionally cleave aDNA target site. The guide polynucleotide can be a single molecule or adouble molecule. The guide polynucleotide sequence can be a RNAsequence, a DNA sequence, or a combination thereof (a RNA-DNAcombination sequence). Optionally, the guide polynucleotide can compriseat least one nucleotide, phosphodiester bond or linkage modificationsuch as, but not limited, to Locked Nucleic Acid (LNA), 5-methyl dC,2,6-Diaminopurine, 2′-Fluoro A, 2′-Fluoro U, 2′-O-Methyl RNA,phosphorothioate bond, linkage to a cholesterol molecule, linkage to apolyethylene glycol molecule, linkage to a spacer 18 (hexaethyleneglycol chain) molecule, or 5′ to 3′ covalent linkage resulting incircularization. A guide polynucleotide that solely comprisesribonucleic acids is also referred to as a “guide RNA”.

The guide polynucleotide can be a double molecule (also referred to asduplex guide polynucleotide) comprising a first nucleotide sequencedomain (referred to as Variable Targeting domain or VT domain) that iscomplementary to a nucleotide sequence in a target DNA and a secondnucleotide sequence domain (referred to as Cas endonuclease recognitiondomain or CER domain) that interacts with a Cas endonucleasepolypeptide. The CER domain of the double molecule guide polynucleotidecomprises two separate molecules that are hybridized along a region ofcomplementarity. The two separate molecules can be RNA, DNA, and/orRNA-DNA-combination sequences. In some embodiments, the first moleculeof the duplex guide polynucleotide comprising a VT domain linked to aCER domain is referred to as “crDNA” (when composed of a contiguousstretch of DNA nucleotides) or “crRNA” (when composed of a contiguousstretch of RNA nucleotides), or “crDNA-RNA” (when composed of acombination of DNA and RNA nucleotides). The crNucleotide can comprise afragment of the cRNA naturally occurring in Bacteria and Archaea. In oneembodiment, the size of the fragment of the cRNA naturally occurring inBacteria and Archaea that is present in a crNucleotide disclosed hereincan range from, but is not limited to, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9,10, 11,12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20 or more nucleotides. In someembodiments the second molecule of the duplex guide polynucleotidecomprising a CER domain is referred to as “tracrRNA” (when composed of acontiguous stretch of RNA nucleotides) or “tracrDNA” (when composed of acontiguous stretch of DNA nucleotides) or “tracrDNA-RNA” (when composedof a combination of DNA and RNA nucleotides In one embodiment, the RNAthat guides the RNA/Cas9 endonuclease complex, is a duplexed RNAcomprising a duplex crRNA-tracrRNA.

The guide polynucleotide can also be a single molecule comprising afirst nucleotide sequence domain (referred to as Variable Targetingdomain or VT domain) that is complementary to a nucleotide sequence in atarget DNA and a second nucleotide domain (referred to as Casendonuclease recognition domain or CER domain) that interacts with a Casendonuclease polypeptide. By “domain” it is meant a contiguous stretchof nucleotides that can be RNA, DNA, and/or RNA-DNA-combinationsequence. The VT domain and/or the CER domain of a single guidepolynucleotide can comprise a RNA sequence, a DNA sequence, or aRNA-DNA-combination sequence. In some embodiments the single guidepolynucleotide comprises a crNucleotide (comprising a VT domain linkedto a CER domain) linked to a tracrNucleotide (comprising a CER domain),wherein the linkage is a nucleotide sequence comprising a RNA sequence,a DNA sequence, or a RNA-DNA combination sequence. The single guidepolynucleotide being comprised of sequences from the crNucleotide andtracrNucleotide may be referred to as “single guide RNA” (when composedof a contiguous stretch of RNA nucleotides) or “single guide DNA” (whencomposed of a contiguous stretch of DNA nucleotides) or “single guideRNA-DNA” (when composed of a combination of RNA and DNA nucleotides). Inone embodiment of the disclosure, the single guide RNA comprises a cRNAor cRNA fragment and a tracrRNA or tracrRNA fragment of the type IICRISPR/Cas system that can form a complex with a type II Casendonuclease, wherein said guide RNA/Cas endonuclease complex can directthe Cas endonuclease to a plant genomic target site, enabling the Casendonuclease to introduce a double strand break into the genomic targetsite. One aspect of using a single guide polynucleotide versus a duplexguide polynucleotide is that only one expression cassette needs to bemade to express the single guide polynucleotide.

The term “variable targeting domain” or “VT domain” is usedinterchangeably herein and includes a nucleotide sequence that iscomplementary to one strand (nucleotide sequence) of a double strand DNAtarget site (FIGS. 2A and 2B). The % complementation between the firstnucleotide sequence domain (VT domain) and the target sequence can be atleast 50%, 51%, 52%, 53%, 54%, 55%, 56%, 57%, 58%, 59%, 60%, 61%, 62%,63%, 63%, 65%, 66%, 67%, 68%, 69%, 70%, 71%, 72%, 73%, 74%, 75%, 76%,77%, 78%, 79%, 80%, 81%, 82%, 83%, 84%, 85%, 86%, 87%, 88%, 89%, 90%,91%, 92%, 93%, 94%, 95%, 96%, 97%, 98%, 99% or 100%. The variable targetdomain can be at least 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23,24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29 or 30 nucleotides in length. In some embodiments,the variable targeting domain comprises a contiguous stretch of 12 to 30nucleotides. The variable targeting domain can be composed of a DNAsequence, a RNA sequence, a modified DNA sequence, a modified RNAsequence, or any combination thereof.

The term “Cas endonuclease recognition domain” or “CER domain” of aguide polynucleotide is used interchangeably herein and includes anucleotide sequence (such as a second nucleotide sequence domain of aguide polynucleotide), that interacts with a Cas endonucleasepolypeptide. The CER domain can be composed of a DNA sequence, a RNAsequence, a modified DNA sequence, a modified RNA sequence (see forexample modifications described herein), or any combination thereof.

The nucleotide sequence linking the crNucleotide and the tracrNucleotideof a single guide polynucleotide can comprise a RNA sequence, a DNAsequence, or a RNA-DNA combination sequence. In one embodiment, thenucleotide sequence linking the crNucleotide and the tracrNucleotide ofa single guide polynucleotide can be at least 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10,11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28,29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46,47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64,65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 78, 79, 80, 81,82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87, 88, 89, 90, 91, 92, 93, 94, 95, 96, 97, 98, 99or 100 nucleotides in length. In another embodiment, the nucleotidesequence linking the crNucleotide and the tracrNucleotide of a singleguide polynucleotide can comprise a tetraloop sequence, such as, but notlimiting to a GAAA tetraloop sequence.

Nucleotide sequence modification of the guide polynucleotide, VT domainand/or CER domain can be selected from, but not limited to, the groupconsisting of a 5′ cap, a 3′ polyadenylated tail, a riboswitch sequence,a stability control sequence, a sequence that forms a dsRNA duplex, amodification or sequence that targets the guide poly nucleotide to asubcellular location, a modification or sequence that provides fortracking, a modification or sequence that provides a binding site forproteins, a Locked Nucleic Acid (LNA), a 5-methyl dC nucleotide, a2,6-Diaminopurine nucleotide, a 2′-Fluoro A nucleotide, a 2′-Fluoro Unucleotide; a 2′-O-Methyl RNA nucleotide, a phosphorothioate bond,linkage to a cholesterol molecule, linkage to a polyethylene glycolmolecule, linkage to a spacer 18 molecule, a 5′ to 3′ covalent linkage,or any combination thereof. These modifications can result in at leastone additional beneficial feature, wherein the additional beneficialfeature is selected from the group of a modified or regulated stability,a subcellular targeting, tracking, a fluorescent label, a binding sitefor a protein or protein complex, modified binding affinity tocomplementary target sequence, modified resistance to cellulardegradation, and increased cellular permeability.

In one embodiment, the guide RNA and Cas endonuclease are capable offorming a complex that enables the Cas endonuclease to introduce adouble strand break at a DNA target site

In one embodiment of the disclosure the variable target domain is 12,13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29 or 30nucleotides in length.

In one embodiment of the disclosure, the guide RNA comprises a cRNA (orcRNA fragment) and a tracrRNA (or tracrRNA fragment) of the type IICRISPR/Cas system that can form a complex with a type II Casendonuclease, wherein said guide RNA/Cas endonuclease complex can directthe Cas endonuclease to a plant genomic target site, enabling the Casendonuclease to introduce a double strand break into the genomic targetsite.

In one embodiment the guide RNA can be introduced into a plant or plantcell directly using any method known in the art such as, but not limitedto, particle bombardment or topical applications.

In another embodiment the guide RNA can be introduced indirectly byintroducing a recombinant DNA molecule comprising the correspondingguide DNA sequence operably linked to a plant specific promoter (asshown in FIG. 1B) that is capable of transcribing the guide RNA in saidplant cell. The term “corresponding guide DNA” includes a DNA moleculethat is identical to the RNA molecule but has a “T” substituted for each“U” of the RNA molecule.

In some embodiments, the guide RNA is introduced via particlebombardment or Agrobacterium transformation of a recombinant DNAconstruct comprising the corresponding guide DNA operably linked to aplant U6 polymerase III promoter.

In one embodiment, the RNA that guides the RNA/Cas9 endonucleasecomplex, is a duplexed RNA comprising a duplex crRNA-tracrRNA (as shownin FIG. 2B). One advantage of using a guide RNA versus a duplexedcrRNA-tracrRNA is that only one expression cassette needs to be made toexpress the fused guide RNA.

The terms “target site”, “target sequence”, “target DNA”, “targetlocus”, “genomic target site”, “genomic target sequence”, and “genomictarget locus” are used interchangeably herein and refer to apolynucleotide sequence in the genome (including choloroplastic andmitochondrial DNA) of a plant cell at which a double-strand break isinduced in the plant cell genome by a Cas endonuclease. The target sitecan be an endogenous site in the plant genome, or alternatively, thetarget site can be heterologous to the plant and thereby not benaturally occurring in the genome, or the target site can be found in aheterologous genomic location compared to where it occurs in nature. Asused herein, terms “endogenous target sequence” and “native targetsequence” are used interchangeable herein to refer to a target sequencethat is endogenous or native to the genome of a plant and is at theendogenous or native position of that target sequence in the genome ofthe plant.

In one embodiments, the target site can be similar to a DNA recognitionsite or target site that that is specifically recognized and/or bound bya double-strand break inducing agent such as a LIG3-4 endonuclease (USpatent publication 2009-0133152 A1 (published May 21, 2009) or a MS26++meganuclease (U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/526,912 filed Jun. 19,2012).

An “artificial target site” or “artificial target sequence” are usedinterchangeably herein and refer to a target sequence that has beenintroduced into the genome of a plant. Such an artificial targetsequence can be identical in sequence to an endogenous or native targetsequence in the genome of a plant but be located in a different position(i.e., a non-endogenous or non-native position) in the genome of aplant.

An “altered target site”, “altered target sequence”, “modified targetsite”, “modified target sequence” are used interchangeably herein andrefer to a target sequence as disclosed herein that comprises at leastone alteration when compared to non-altered target sequence. Such“alterations” include, for example: (i) replacement of at least onenucleotide, (ii) a deletion of at least one nucleotide, (iii) aninsertion of at least one nucleotide, or (iv) any combination of(i)-(iii).

Methods for modifying a plant genomic target site are disclosed herein.In one embodiment, a method for modifying a target site in the genome ofa plant cell comprises introducing a guide RNA into a plant cell havinga Cas endonuclease, wherein said guide RNA and Cas endonuclease arecapable of forming a complex that enables the Cas endonuclease tointroduce a double strand break at said target site.

Also provided is a method for modifying a target site in the genome of aplant cell, the method comprising introducing a guide RNA and a Casendonuclease into said plant, wherein said guide RNA and Casendonuclease are capable of forming a complex that enables the Casendonuclease to introduce a double strand break at said target site.

Further provided is a method for modifying a target site in the genomeof a plant cell, the method comprising introducing a guide RNA and adonor DNA into a plant cell having a Cas endonuclease, wherein saidguide RNA and Cas endonuclease are capable of forming a complex thatenables the Cas endonuclease to introduce a double strand break at saidtarget site, wherein said donor DNA comprises a polynucleotide ofinterest.

Further provided is a method for modifying a target site in the genomeof a plant cell, the method comprising: a) introducing into a plant cella guide RNA comprising a variable targeting domain and a Casendonuclease, wherein said guide RNA and Cas endonuclease are capable offorming a complex that enables the Cas endonuclease to introduce adouble strand break at said target site; and, b) identifying at leastone plant cell that has a modification at said target, wherein themodification includes at least one deletion or substitution of one ormore nucleotides in said target site.

Further provided, a method for modifying a target DNA sequence in thegenome of a plant cell, the method comprising: a)introducing into aplant cell a first recombinant DNA construct capable of expressing aguide RNA and a second recombinant DNA construct capable of expressing aCas endonuclease, wherein said guide RNA and Cas endonuclease arecapable of forming a complex that enables the Cas endonuclease tointroduce a double strand break at said target site; and, b) identifyingat least one plant cell that has a modification at said target, whereinthe modification includes at least one deletion or substitution of oneor more nucleotides in said target site.

The length of the target site can vary, and includes, for example,target sites that are at least 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21,22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30 or more nucleotides in length. It isfurther possible that the target site can be palindromic, that is, thesequence on one strand reads the same in the opposite direction on thecomplementary strand. The nick/cleavage site can be within the targetsequence or the nick/cleavage site could be outside of the targetsequence. In another variation, the cleavage could occur at nucleotidepositions immediately opposite each other to produce a blunt end cut or,in other Cases, the incisions could be staggered to producesingle-stranded overhangs, also called “sticky ends”, which can beeither 5′ overhangs, or 3′ overhangs.

In some embodiment, the genomic target site capable of being cleaved bya Cas endonuclease comprises a 12 to 30 nucleotide fragment of a malefertility gene such as MS26 (see for example U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,098,388,7,517,975, 7,612,251), MS45 (see for example U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,478,369,6,265,640) or MSCA1 (see for example U.S. Pat. No. 7,919,676), ALS orESPS genes.

Active variants of genomic target sites can also be used. Such activevariants can comprise at least 65%, 70%, 75%, 80%, 85%, 90%, 91%, 92%,93%, 94%, 95%, 96%, 97%, 98%, 99% or more sequence identity to the giventarget site, wherein the active variants retain biological activity andhence are capable of being recognized and cleaved by an Casendonuclease. Assays to measure the double-strand break of a target siteby an endonuclease are known in the art and generally measure theoverall activity and specificity of the agent on DNA substratescontaining recognition sites.

Various methods and compositions can be employed to obtain a planthaving a polynucleotide of interest inserted in a target site for a Casendonuclease. Such methods can employ homologous recombination toprovide integration of the polynucleotide of Interest at the targetsite. In one method provided, a polynucleotide of interest is providedto the plant cell in a donor DNA construct. As used herein, “donor DNA”is a DNA construct that comprises a polynucleotide of Interest to beinserted into the target site of a Cas endonuclease. The donor DNAconstruct further comprises a first and a second region of homology thatflank the polynucleotide of Interest. The first and second regions ofhomology of the donor DNA share homology to a first and a second genomicregion, respectively, present in or flanking the target site of theplant genome. By “homology” is meant DNA sequences that are similar. Forexample, a “region of homology to a genomic region” that is found on thedonor DNA is a region of DNA that has a similar sequence to a given“genomic region” in the plant genome. A region of homology can be of anylength that is sufficient to promote homologous recombination at thecleaved target site. For example, the region of homology can comprise atleast 5-10, 5-15, 5-20, 5-25, 5-30, 5-35, 5-40, 5-45, 5-50, 5-55, 5-60,5-65, 5-70, 5-75, 5-80, 5-85, 5-90, 5-95, 5-100, 5-200, 5-300, 5-400,5-500, 5-600, 5-700, 5-800, 5-900, 5-1000, 5-1100, 5-1200, 5-1300,5-1400, 5-1500, 5-1600, 5-1700, 5-1800, 5-1900, 5-2000, 5-2100, 5-2200,5-2300, 5-2400, 5-2500, 5-2600, 5-2700, 5-2800. 5-2900, 5-3000, 5-3100or more bases in length such that the region of homology has sufficienthomology to undergo homologous recombination with the correspondinggenomic region. “Sufficient homology” indicates that two polynucleotidesequences have sufficient structural similarity to act as substrates fora homologous recombination reaction. The structural similarity includesoverall length of each polynucleotide fragment, as well as the sequencesimilarity of the polynucleotides. Sequence similarity can be describedby the percent sequence identity over the whole length of the sequences,and/or by conserved regions comprising localized similarities such ascontiguous nucleotides having 100% sequence identity, and percentsequence identity over a portion of the length of the sequences.

The amount of homology or sequence identity shared by a target and adonor polynucleotide can vary and includes total lengths and/or regionshaving unit integral values in the ranges of about 1-20 bp, 20-50 bp,50-100 bp, 75-150 bp, 100-250 bp, 150-300 bp, 200-400 bp, 250-500 bp,300-600 bp, 350-750 bp, 400-800 bp, 450-900 bp, 500-1000 bp, 600-1250bp, 700-1500 bp, 800-1750 bp, 900-2000 bp, 1-2.5 kb, 1.5-3 kb, 2-4 kb,2.5-5 kb, 3-6 kb, 3.5-7 kb, 4-8 kb, 5-10 kb, or up to and including thetotal length of the target site. These ranges include every integerwithin the range, for example, the range of 1-20 bp includes 1, 2, 3, 4,5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19 and 20 bp. Theamount of homology can also described by percent sequence identity overthe full aligned length of the two polynucleotides which includespercent sequence identity of about at least 50%, 55%, 60%, 65%, 70%,71%, 72%, 73%, 74%, 75%, 76%, 77%, 78%, 79%, 80%, 81%, 82%, 83%, 84%,85%, 86%, 87%, 88%, 89%, 90%, 91%, 92%, 93%, 94%, 95%, 96%, 97%, 98%,99% or 100%. Sufficient homology includes any combination ofpolynucleotide length, global percent sequence identity, and optionallyconserved regions of contiguous nucleotides or local percent sequenceidentity, for example sufficient homology can be described as a regionof 75-150 bp having at least 80% sequence identity to a region of thetarget locus. Sufficient homology can also be described by the predictedability of two polynucleotides to specifically hybridize under highstringency conditions, see, for example, Sambrook et al., (1989)Molecular Cloning: A Laboratory Manual, (Cold Spring Harbor LaboratoryPress, NY); Current Protocols in Molecular Biology, Ausubel et al., Eds(1994) Current Protocols, (Greene Publishing Associates, Inc. and JohnWiley & Sons, Inc); and, Tijssen (1993) Laboratory Techniques inBiochemistry and Molecular Biology—Hybridization with Nucleic AcidProbes, (Elsevier, New York).

As used herein, a “genomic region” is a segment of a chromosome in thegenome of a plant cell that is present on either side of the target siteor, alternatively, also comprises a portion of the target site. Thegenomic region can comprise at least 5-10, 5-15, 5-20, 5-25, 5-30, 5-35,5-40, 5-45, 5-50, 5-55, 5-60, 5-65, 5-70, 5-75, 5-80, 5-85, 5-90, 5-95,5-100, 5-200, 5-300, 5-400, 5-500, 5-600, 5-700, 5-800, 5-900, 5-1000,5-1100, 5-1200, 5-1300, 5-1400, 5-1500, 5-1600, 5-1700, 5-1800, 5-1900,5-2000, 5-2100, 5-2200, 5-2300, 5-2400, 5-2500, 5-2600, 5-2700, 5-2800.5-2900, 5-3000, 5-3100 or more bases such that the genomic region hassufficient homology to undergo homologous recombination with thecorresponding region of homology.

Polynucleotides of interest and/or traits can be stacked together in acomplex trait locus as described in US-2013-0263324-A1, published 3 Oct.2013 and in PCT/US13/22891, published Jan. 24, 2013, both applicationsare hereby incorporated by reference. The guide polynucleotide/Cas9endonuclease system described herein provides for an efficient system togenerate double strand breaks and allows for traits to be stacked in acomplex trait locus.

In one embodiment, the guide polynucleotide/Cas endonuclease system isused for introducing one or more polynucleotides of interest or one ormore traits of interest into one or more target sites by providing oneor more guide polynucleotides, one Cas endonuclease, and optionally oneor more donor DNAs to a plant cell. A fertile plant can be produced fromthat plant cell that comprises an alteration at said one or more targetsites, wherein the alteration is selected from the group consisting of(i) replacement of at least one nucleotide, (ii) a deletion of at leastone nucleotide, (iii) an insertion of at least one nucleotide, and (iv)any combination of (i)-(iii). Plants comprising these altered targetsites can be crossed with plants comprising at least one gene or traitof interest in the same complex trait locus, thereby further stackingtraits in said complex trait locus. (see also US-2013-0263324-A1,published 3 Oct. 2013 and in PCT/US13/22891, published Jan. 24, 2013).

In one embodiment, the method comprises a method for producing in aplant a complex trait locus comprising at least two altered targetsequences in a genomic region of interest, said method comprising: (a)selecting a genomic region in a plant, wherein the genomic regioncomprises a first target sequence and a second target sequence; (b)contacting at least one plant cell with at least a first guidepolynucleotide, a second polynucleotide, and optionally at least onedonor DNA, and a Cas endonuclease, wherein the first and second guidepolynucleotide and the Cas endonuclease can form a complex that enablesthe Cas endonuclease to introduce a double strand break in at least afirst and a second target sequence; (c) identifying a cell from (b)comprising a first alteration at the first target sequence and a secondalteration at the second target sequence; and (d) recovering a firstfertile plant from the cell of (c) said fertile plant comprising thefirst alteration and the second alteration, wherein the first alterationand the second alteration are physically linked.

In one embodiment, the method comprises a method for producing in aplant a complex trait locus comprising at least two altered targetsequences in a genomic region of interest, said method comprising: (a)selecting a genomic region in a plant, wherein the genomic regioncomprises a first target sequence and a second target sequence; (b)contacting at least one plant cell with a first guide polynucleotide, aCas endonuclease, and optionally a first donor DNA, wherein the firstguide polynucleotide and the Cas endonuclease can form a complex thatenables the Cas endonuclease to introduce a double strand break a firsttarget sequence; (c) identifying a cell from (b) comprising a firstalteration at the first target sequence; (d) recovering a first fertileplant from the cell of (c), said first fertile plant comprising thefirst alteration; (e) contacting at least one plant cell with a secondguide polynucleotide, a Cas endonuclease and optionally a second DonorDNA; (f) identifying a cell from (e) comprising a second alteration atthe second target sequence; (g) recovering a second fertile plant fromthe cell of (f), said second fertile plant comprising the secondalteration; and, (h) obtaining a fertile progeny plant from the secondfertile plant of (g), said fertile progeny plant comprising the firstalteration and the second alteration, wherein the first alteration andthe second alteration are physically linked.

The structural similarity between a given genomic region and thecorresponding region of homology found on the donor DNA can be anydegree of sequence identity that allows for homologous recombination tooccur. For example, the amount of homology or sequence identity sharedby the “region of homology” of the donor DNA and the “genomic region” ofthe plant genome can be at least 50%, 55%, 60%, 65%, 70%, 75%, 80%, 81%,82%, 83%, 84%, 85%, 86%, 87%, 88%, 89%, 90%, 91%, 92%, 93%, 94%, 95%,96%, 97%, 98%, 99% or 100% sequence identity, such that the sequencesundergo homologous recombination

The region of homology on the donor DNA can have homology to anysequence flanking the target site. While in some embodiments the regionsof homology share significant sequence homology to the genomic sequenceimmediately flanking the target site, it is recognized that the regionsof homology can be designed to have sufficient homology to regions thatmay be further 5′ or 3′ to the target site. In still other embodiments,the regions of homology can also have homology with a fragment of thetarget site along with downstream genomic regions. In one embodiment,the first region of homology further comprises a first fragment of thetarget site and the second region of homology comprises a secondfragment of the target site, wherein the first and second fragments aredissimilar.

As used herein, “homologous recombination” includes the exchange of DNAfragments between two DNA molecules at the sites of homology. Thefrequency of homologous recombination is influenced by a number offactors. Different organisms vary with respect to the amount ofhomologous recombination and the relative proportion of homologous tonon-homologous recombination. Generally, the length of the region ofhomology affects the frequency of homologous recombination events: thelonger the region of homology, the greater the frequency. The length ofthe homology region needed to observe homologous recombination is alsospecies-variable. In many cases, at least 5 kb of homology has beenutilized, but homologous recombination has been observed with as littleas 25-50 bp of homology. See, for example, Singer et al., (1982) Cell31:25-33; Shen and Huang, (1986) Genetics 112:441-57; Watt et al.,(1985) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 82:4768-72, Sugawara and Haber, (1992)Mol Cell Biol 12:563-75, Rubnitz and Subramani, (1984) Mol Cell Biol4:2253-8; Ayares et al., (1986) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 83:5199-203;Liskay et al., (1987) Genetics 115:161-7.

Homology-directed repair (HDR) is a mechanism in cells to repairdouble-stranded and single stranded DNA breaks. Homology-directed repairincludes homologous recombination (HR) and single-strand annealing (SSA)(Lieber. 2010 Annu. Rev. Biochem. 79:181-211). The most common form ofHDR is called homologous recombination (HR), which has the longestsequence homology requirements between the donor and acceptor DNA. Otherforms of HDR include single-stranded annealing (SSA) andbreakage-induced replication, and these require shorter sequencehomology relative to HR. Homology-directed repair at nicks(single-stranded breaks) can occur via a mechanism distinct from HDR atdouble-strand breaks (Davis and Maizels. PNAS(0027-8424), 111 (10), p.E924-E932.

Alteration of the genome of a plant cell, for example, throughhomologous recombination (HR), is a powerful tool for geneticengineering. Despite the low frequency of homologous recombination inhigher plants, there are a few examples of successful homologousrecombination of plant endogenous genes. The parameters for homologousrecombination in plants have primarily been investigated by rescuingintroduced truncated selectable marker genes. In these experiments, thehomologous DNA fragments were typically between 0.3 kb to 2 kb. Observedfrequencies for homologous recombination were on the order of 10⁻⁴ to10⁻⁵. See, for example, Halfter et al., (1992) Mol Gen Genet 231:186-93;Offringa et al., (1990) EMBO J 9:3077-84; Offringa et al., (1993) Proc.Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 90:7346-50; Paszkowski et al., (1988) EMBO J7:4021-6; Hourda and Paszkowski, (1994) Mol Gen Genet 243:106-11; andRisseeuw et al., (1995) Plant J 7:109-19.

Homologous recombination has been demonstrated in insects. InDrosophila, Dray and Gloor found that as little as 3 kb of totaltemplate:target homology sufficed to copy a large non-homologous segmentof DNA into the target with reasonable efficiency (Dray and Gloor,(1997) Genetics 147:689-99). Using FLP-mediated DNA integration at atarget FRT in Drosophila, Golic et al., showed integration wasapproximately 10-fold more efficient when the donor and target shared4.1 kb of homology as compared to 1.1 kb of homology (Golic et al.,(1997) Nucleic Acids Res 25:3665). Data from Drosophila indicates that2-4 kb of homology is sufficient for efficient targeting, but there issome evidence that much less homology may suffice, on the order of about30 bp to about 100 bp (Nassif and Engels, (1993) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci.USA 90:1262-6; Keeler and Gloor, (1997) Mol Cell Biol 17:627-34).

Homologous recombination has also been accomplished in other organisms.For example, at least 150-200 bp of homology was required for homologousrecombination in the parasitic protozoan Leishmania (Papadopoulou andDumas, (1997) Nucleic Acids Res 25:4278-86). In the filamentous fungusAspergillus nidulans, gene replacement has been accomplished with aslittle as 50 bp flanking homology (Chaveroche et al., (2000) NucleicAcids Res 28:e97). Targeted gene replacement has also been demonstratedin the ciliate Tetrahymena thermophila (Gaertig et al., (1994) NucleicAcids Res 22:5391-8). In mammals, homologous recombination has been mostsuccessful in the mouse using pluripotent embryonic stem cell lines (ES)that can be grown in culture, transformed, selected and introduced intoa mouse embryo. Embryos bearing inserted transgenic ES cells develop asgenetically offspring. By interbreeding siblings, homozygous micecarrying the selected genes can be obtained. An overview of the processis provided in Watson et al., (1992) Recombinant DNA, 2nd Ed.,(Scientific American Books distributed by W H Freeman & Co.); Capecchi,(1989) Trends Genet 5:70-6; and Bronson, (1994) J Biol Chem 269:27155-8.Homologous recombination in mammals other than mouse has been limited bythe lack of stem cells capable of being transplanted to oocytes ordeveloping embryos. However, McCreath et al., Nature 405:1066-9 (2000)reported successful homologous recombination in sheep by transformationand selection in primary embryo fibroblast cells.

Error-prone DNA repair mechanisms can produce mutations at double-strandbreak sites. The nonhomologous end-joining (NHEJ) pathways are the mostcommon repair mechanism to bring the broken ends together (Bleuyard etal., (2006) DNA Repair 5:1-12). The structural integrity of chromosomesis typically preserved by the repair, but deletions, insertions, orother rearrangements are possible. The two ends of one double-strandbreak are the most prevalent substrates of NHEJ (Kirik et al., (2000)EMBO J 19:5562-6), however if two different double-strand breaks occur,the free ends from different breaks can be ligated and result inchromosomal deletions (Siebert and Puchta, (2002) Plant Cell14:1121-31), or chromosomal translocations between different chromosomes(Pacher et al., (2007) Genetics 175:21-9).

Episomal DNA molecules can also be ligated into the double-strand break,for example, integration of T-DNAs into chromosomal double-strand breaks(Chilton and Que, (2003) Plant Physiol 133:956-65; Salomon and Puchta,(1998) EMBO J 17:6086-95). Once the sequence around the double-strandbreaks is altered, for example, by exonuclease activities involved inthe maturation of double-strand breaks, gene conversion pathways canrestore the original structure if a homologous sequence is available,such as a homologous chromosome in non-dividing somatic cells, or asister chromatid after DNA replication (Molinier et al., (2004) PlantCell 16:342-52). Ectopic and/or epigenic DNA sequences may also serve asa DNA repair template for homologous recombination (Puchta, (1999)Genetics 152:1173-81).

Once a double-strand break is induced in the DNA, the cell's DNA repairmechanism is activated to repair the break. Error-prone DNA repairmechanisms can produce mutations at double-strand break sites. The mostcommon repair mechanism to bring the broken ends together is thenonhomologous end-joining (NHEJ) pathway (Bleuyard et al., (2006) DNARepair 5:1-12). The structural integrity of chromosomes is typicallypreserved by the repair, but deletions, insertions, or otherrearrangements are possible (Siebert and Puchta, (2002) Plant Cell14:1121-31; Pacher et al., (2007) Genetics 175:21-9).

Alternatively, the double-strand break can be repaired by homologousrecombination between homologous DNA sequences. Once the sequence aroundthe double-strand break is altered, for example, by exonucleaseactivities involved in the maturation of double-strand breaks, geneconversion pathways can restore the original structure if a homologoussequence is available, such as a homologous chromosome in non-dividingsomatic cells, or a sister chromatid after DNA replication (Molinier etal., (2004) Plant Cell 16:342-52). Ectopic and/or epigenic DNA sequencesmay also serve as a DNA repair template for homologous recombination(Puchta, (1999) Genetics 152:1173-81).

DNA double-strand breaks appear to be an effective factor to stimulatehomologous recombination pathways (Puchta et al., (1995) Plant Mol Biol28:281-92; Tzfira and White, (2005) Trends Biotechnol 23:567-9; Puchta,(2005) J Exp Bot 56:1-14). Using DNA-breaking agents, a two- tonine-fold increase of homologous recombination was observed betweenartificially constructed homologous DNA repeats in plants (Puchta etal., (1995) Plant Mol Biol 28:281-92). In maize protoplasts, experimentswith linear DNA molecules demonstrated enhanced homologous recombinationbetween plasmids (Lyznik et al., (1991) Mol Gen Genet 230:209-18).

In one embodiment provided herein, the method comprises contacting aplant cell with the donor DNA and the endonuclease. Once a double-strandbreak is introduced in the target site by the endonuclease, the firstand second regions of homology of the donor DNA can undergo homologousrecombination with their corresponding genomic regions of homologyresulting in exchange of DNA between the donor and the genome. As such,the provided methods result in the integration of the polynucleotide ofinterest of the donor DNA into the double-strand break in the targetsite in the plant genome, thereby altering the original target site andproducing an altered genomic target site.

The donor DNA may be introduced by any means known in the art. Forexample, a plant having a target site is provided. The donor DNA may beprovided by any transformation method known in the art including, forexample, Agrobacterium-mediated transformation or biolistic particlebombardment. The donor DNA may be present transiently in the cell or itcould be introduced via a viral replicon. In the presence of the Casendonuclease and the target site, the donor DNA is inserted into thetransformed plant's genome.

Another approach uses protein engineering of existing homingendonucleases to alter their target specificities. Homing endonucleases,such as I-SceI or I-CreI, bind to and cleave relatively long DNArecognition sequences (18 bp and 22 bp, respectively). These sequencesare predicted to naturally occur infrequently in a genome, typicallyonly 1 or 2 sites/genome. The cleavage specificity of a homingendonuclease can be changed by rational design of amino acidsubstitutions at the DNA binding domain and/or combinatorial assemblyand selection of mutated monomers (see, for example, Arnould et al.,(2006) J Mol Biol 355:443-58; Ashworth et al., (2006) Nature 441:656-9;Doyon et al., (2006) J Am Chem Soc 128:2477-84; Rosen et al., (2006)Nucleic Acids Res 34:4791-800; and Smith et al., (2006) Nucleic AcidsRes 34:e149; Lyznik et al., (2009) U.S. Patent Application PublicationNo. 20090133152A1; Smith et al., (2007) U.S. Patent ApplicationPublication No. 20070117128A1). Engineered meganucleases have beendemonstrated that can cleave cognate mutant sites without broadeningtheir specificity. An artificial recognition site specific to the wildtype yeast I-SceI homing nuclease was introduced in maize genome andmutations of the recognition sequence were detected in 1% of analyzed F1plants when a transgenic I-SceI was introduced by crossing and activatedby gene excision (Yang et al., (2009) Plant Mol Biol 70:669-79). Morepractically, the maize liguleless locus was targeted using an engineeredsingle-chain endonuclease designed based on the I-CreI meganucleasesequence. Mutations of the selected liguleless locus recognitionsequence were detected in 3% of the T0 transgenic plants when thedesigned homing nuclease was introduced by Agrobacterium-mediatedtransformation of immature embryos (Gao et al., (2010) Plant J61:176-87).

Polynucleotides of interest are further described herein and arereflective of the commercial markets and interests of those involved inthe development of the crop. Crops and markets of interest change, andas developing nations open up world markets, new crops and technologieswill emerge also. In addition, as our understanding of agronomic traitsand characteristics such as yield and heterosis increase, the choice ofgenes for genetic engineering will change accordingly.

Genome Editing Using the Guide RNA/Cas Endonuclease System

As described herein, the guide RNA/Cas endonuclease system can be usedin combination with a co-delivered polynucleotide modification templateto allow for editing of a genomic nucleotide sequence of interest. Also,as described herein, for each embodiment that uses a guide RNA/Casendonuclease system, a similar guide polynucleotide/Cas endonucleasesystem can be deployed where the guide polynucleotide does not solelycomprise ribonucleic acids but wherein the guide polynucleotidecomprises a combination of RNA-DNA molecules or solely comprise DNAmolecules.

While numerous double-strand break-making systems exist, their practicalapplications for gene editing may be restricted due to the relativelylow frequency of induced double-strand breaks (DSBs). To date, manygenome modification methods rely on the homologous recombination system.Homologous recombination (HR) can provide molecular means for findinggenomic DNA sequences of interest and modifying them according to theexperimental specifications. Homologous recombination takes place inplant somatic cells at low frequency. The process can be enhanced to apractical level for genome engineering by introducing double-strandbreaks (DSBs) at selected endonuclease target sites. The challenge hasbeen to efficiently make DSBs at genomic sites of interest since thereis a bias in the directionality of information transfer between twointeracting DNA molecules (the broken one acts as an acceptor of geneticinformation). Described herein is the use of a guide RNA/Cas systemwhich provides flexible genome cleavage specificity and results in ahigh frequency of double-strand breaks at a DNA target site, therebyenabling efficient gene editing in a nucleotide sequence of interest,wherein the nucleotide sequence of interest to be edited can be locatedwithin or outside the target site recognized and cleaved by a Casendonuclease.

A “modified nucleotide” or “edited nucleotide” refers to a nucleotidesequence of interest that comprises at least one alteration whencompared to its non-modified nucleotide sequence. Such “alterations”include, for example: (i) replacement of at least one nucleotide, (ii) adeletion of at least one nucleotide, (iii) an insertion of at least onenucleotide, or (iv) any combination of (i)-(iii).

The term “polynucleotide modification template” includes apolynucleotide that comprises at least one nucleotide modification whencompared to the nucleotide sequence to be edited. A nucleotidemodification can be at least one nucleotide substitution, addition ordeletion. Optionally, the polynucleotide modification template canfurther comprise homologous nucleotide sequences flanking the at leastone nucleotide modification, wherein the flanking homologous nucleotidesequences provide sufficient homology to the desired nucleotide sequenceto be edited.

In one embodiment, the disclosure describes a method for editing anucleotide sequence in the genome of a cell, the method comprisingproviding a guide RNA, a polynucleotide modification template, and atleast one Cas endonuclease to a cell, wherein the Cas endonuclease iscapable of introducing a double-strand break at a target sequence in thegenome of said cell, wherein said polynucleotide modification templateincludes at least one nucleotide modification of said nucleotidesequence. Cells include, but are not limited to, human, animal,bacterial, fungal, insect, and plant cells as well as plants and seedsproduced by the methods described herein. The nucleotide to be editedcan be located within or outside a target site recognized and cleaved bya Cas endonuclease. In one embodiment, the at least one nucleotidemodification is not a modification at a target site recognized andcleaved by a Cas endonuclease. In another embodiment, there are at least1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20,21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 30, 40, 50, 100, 200, 300, 400, 500, 600,700, 900 or 1000 nucleotides between the at least one nucleotide to beedited and the genomic target site.

In another embodiment, the disclosure describes a method for editing anucleotide sequence in the genome of a plant cell, the method comprisingproviding a guide RNA, a polynucleotide modification template, and atleast one maize optimized Cas9 endonuclease to a plant cell, wherein themaize optimized Cas9 endonuclease is capable of providing adouble-strand break at a moCas9 target sequence in the plant genome,wherein said polynucleotide modification template includes at least onenucleotide modification of said nucleotide sequence.

In another embodiment, the disclosure describes a method for editing anucleotide sequence in the genome of a cell, the method comprisingproviding a guide RNA, a polynucleotide modification template and atleast one Cas endonuclease to a cell, wherein said guide RNA and Casendonuclease are capable of forming a complex that enables the Casendonuclease to introduce a double strand break at a target site,wherein said polynucleotide modification template comprises at least onenucleotide modification of said nucleotide sequence.

In another embodiment of genome editing, editing of the endogenousenolpyruvylshikimate-3-phosphate synthase (EPSPS) gene is disclosedherein (Example 16). In this embodiment, the polynucleotide modificationtemplate (EPSPS polynucleotide modification template) includes a partialfragment of the EPSPS gene (and therefore does not encode a fullyfunctional EPSPS polypeptide by itself). The EPSPS polynucleotidemodification template contained three point mutations that wereresponsible for the creation of the T1021/P106S (TIPS) double mutant(Funke, T et al., J. Biol. Chem. 2009, 284:9854-9860), which provideglyphosate tolerance to transgenic plants expressing as EPSPS doublemutant transgene.

As defined herein “Glyphosate” includes any herbicidally effective formof N-phosphonomethylglycine (including any salt thereof), other formswhich result in the production of the glyphosate anion in plants and anyother herbicides of the phosphonomethylglycine family.

In one embodiment of the disclosure, an epsps mutant plant is producedby the method described herein, said method comprising: a) providing aguide RNA, a polynucleotide modification template and at least one Casendonuclease to a plant cell, wherein the Cas endonuclease introduces adouble strand break at a target site within an epsps(enolpyruvylshikimate-3-phosphate synthase) genomic sequence in theplant genome, wherein said polynucleotide modification templatecomprises at least one nucleotide modification of said epsps genomicsequence; b) obtaining a plant from the plant cell of (a); c) evaluatingthe plant of (b) for the presence of said at least one nucleotidemodification and d) selecting a progeny plant that shows resistance toglyphosate.

Increased resistance to a herbicide is demonstrated when plants whichdisplay the increased resistance to a herbicide are subjected to theherbicide and a dose/response curve is shifted to the right whencompared with that provided by an appropriate control plant. Suchdose/response curves have “dose” plotted on the x-axis and “percentageinjury”, “herbicidal effect” etc. plotted on the y-axis. Plants whichare substantially resistant to the herbicide exhibit few, if any,bleached, necrotic, lytic, chlorotic or other lesions and are notstunted, wilted or deformed when subjected to the herbicide atconcentrations and rates which are typically employed by theagricultural community to kill weeds in the field. The terms resistanceand tolerance may be used interchangeably.

FIG. 12 shows a schematic representation of components used in thegenome editing procedure. A maize optimized Cas endonuclease, a guideRNA and a polynucleotide modification template were provided to a plantcell. For example, as shown in FIG. 12, the polynucleotide modificationtemplate included three nucleotide modifications (indicated by arrows)when compared to the EPSPS genomic sequence to be edited. These threenucleotide modifications are referred to as TIPS mutations as thesenucleotide modifications result in the amino acid changes T-102 to I-102and P-106 to S-106. The first point mutation results from thesubstitution of the C nucleotide in the codon sequence ACT with a Tnucleotide, a second mutation results from the substitution of the Tnucleotide on the same codon sequence ACT with a C nucleotide to formthe isoleucine codon ATC, the third point mutation results from thesubstitution of the first C nucleotide in the codon sequence CCA with aT nucleotide in order to form a serine codon TCA (FIG. 12).

In one embodiment, the disclosure describes a method for producing anepsps (enolpyruvylshikimate-3-phosphate synthase) mutant plant, themethod comprising: a) providing a guide RNA, a polynucleotidemodification template and at least one Cas endonuclease to a plant cell,wherein the Cas endonuclease introduces a double strand break at atarget site within an epsps genomic sequence in the plant genome,wherein said polynucleotide modification template comprises at least onenucleotide modification of said epsps genomic sequence; b) obtaining aplant from the plant cell of (a); c) evaluating the plant of (b) for thepresence of said at least one nucleotide modification; and, d) screeninga progeny plant of (c) that is void of said guide RNA and Casendonuclease.

The nucleotide sequence to be edited can be a sequence that isendogenous, artificial, pre-existing, or transgenic to the cell that isbeing edited. For example, the nucleotide sequence in the genome of acell can be a native gene, a mutated gene, a non-native gene, a foreigngene, or a transgene that is stably incorporated into the genome of acell. Editing of such nucleotide may result in a further desiredphenotype or genotype.

Regulatory Sequence Modifications using the Guide Polynucleotide/CasEndonuclease System

In one embodiment the nucleotide sequence to be modified can be aregulatory sequence such as a promoter wherein the editing of thepromoter comprises replacing the promoter (also referred to as a“promoter swap” or “promoter replacement”) or promoter fragment with adifferent promoter (also referred to as replacement promoter) orpromoter fragment (also referred to as replacement promoter fragment),wherein the promoter replacement results in any one of the following orany one combination of the following: an increased promoter activity, anincreased promoter tissue specificity, a decreased promoter activity, adecreased promoter tissue specificity, a new promoter activity, aninducible promoter activity, an extended window of gene expression, amodification of the timing or developmental progress of gene expressionin the same cell layer or other cell layer (such as but not limiting toextending the timing of gene expression in the tapetum of maize anthers(U.S. Pat. No. 5,837,850 issued Nov. 17, 1998), a mutation of DNAbinding elements and/or a deletion or addition of DNA binding elements.The promoter (or promoter fragment) to be modified can be a promoter (orpromoter fragment) that is endogenous, artificial, pre-existing, ortransgenic to the cell that is being edited. The replacement promoter(or replacement promoter fragment) can be a promoter (or promoterfragment) that is endogenous, artificial, pre-existing, or transgenic tothe cell that is being edited.

In one embodiment the nucleotide sequence can be a promoter wherein theediting of the promoter comprises replacing an ARGOS 8 promoter with aZea mays GOS2 PRO:GOS2-intron promoter.

In one embodiment the nucleotide sequence can be a promoter wherein theediting of the promoter comprises replacing a native EPSPS1 promoterfrom with a plant ubiquitin promoter.

In one embodiment the nucleotide sequence can be a promoter wherein theediting of the promoter comprises replacing an endogenous maize NPK1promoter with a stress inducible maize RAB17 promoter.

In one embodiment the nucleotide sequence can be a promoter wherein thepromoter to be edited is selected from the group comprising Zeamays-PEPC1 promoter (Kausch et al, Plant Molecular Biology, 45: 1-15,2001), Zea mays Ubiquitin promoter (UBI1ZM PRO, Christensen et al, plantMolecular Biology 18: 675-689, 1992), Zea mays-Rootmet2 promoter (U.S.Pat. No. 7,214,855), Rice actin promoter (OS-ACTIN PRO, U.S. Pat. No.5,641,876; McElroy et al, The Plant Cell, Vol 2, 163-171, February1990), Sorghum RCC3 promoter (US 2012/0210463 filed on 13 Feb. 2012),Zea mays-GOS2 promoter (U.S. Pat. No. 6,504,083), Zea mays-ACO2promoter(U.S. application Ser. No. 14/210,711 filed 14 Mar. 2014) or Zeamays-oleosin promoter (U.S. Pat. No. 8,466,341 B2).

In another embodiment, the guide polynucleotide/Cas endonuclease systemcan be used in combination with a co-delivered polynucleotidemodification template or donor DNA sequence to allow for the insertionof a promoter or promoter element into a genomic nucleotide sequence ofinterest, wherein the promoter insertion (or promoter element insertion)results in any one of the following or any one combination of thefollowing: an increased promoter activity (increased promoter strength),an increased promoter tissue specificity, a decreased promoter activity,a decreased promoter tissue specificity, a new promoter activity, aninducible promoter activity, an extended window of gene expression, amodification of the timing or developmental progress of gene expressiona mutation of DNA binding elements and/or an addition of DNA bindingelements. Promoter elements to be inserted can be, but are not limitedto, promoter core elements (such as, but not limited to, a CAAT box, aCCAAT box, a Pribnow box, a and/or TATA box, translational regulationsequences and/or a repressor system for inducible expression (such asTET operator repressor/operator/inducer elements, or sulphonylurea (Su)repressor/operator/inducer elements. The dehydration-responsive element(DRE) was first identified as a cis-acting promoter element in thepromoter of the drought-responsive gene rd29A, which contains a 9 bpconserved core sequence, TACCGACAT (Yamaguchi-Shinozaki, K. andShinozaki, K (1994) Plant Cell 6, 251-264). Insertion of DRE into anendogenous promoter may confer a drought inducible expression of thedownstream gene. Another example is ABA-responsive elements (ABREs)which contains a (C/T)ACGTGGC consensus sequence found to be present innumerous ABA and/or stress-regulated genes (Busk P. K., Pages M.(1998)Plant Mol. Biol. 37:425-435). Insertion of 35S enhancer or MMV enhancerinto an endogenous promoter region will increase gene expression (U.S.Pat. No. 5,196,525). The promoter (or promoter element) to be insertedcan be a promoter (or promoter element) that is endogenous, artificial,pre-existing, or transgenic to the cell that is being edited.

In one embodiment, the guide polynucleotide/Cas endonuclease system canbe used to insert an enhancer element, such as but not limited to aCauliflower Mosaic Virus 35 S enhancer, in front of an endogenous FMT1promoter to enhance expression of the FTM1.

In one embodiment, the guide polynucleotide/Cas endonuclease system canbe used to insert a component of the TET operatorrepressor/operator/inducer system, or a component of the sulphonylurea(Su) repressor/operator/inducer system into plant genomes to generate orcontrol inducible expression systems.

In another embodiment, the guide polynucleotide/Cas endonuclease systemcan be used to allow for the deletion of a promoter or promoter element,wherein the promoter deletion (or promoter element deletion) results inany one of the following or any one combination of the following: apermanently inactivated gene locus, an increased promoter activity(increased promoter strength), an increased promoter tissue specificity,a decreased promoter activity, a decreased promoter tissue specificity,a new promoter activity, an inducible promoter activity, an extendedwindow of gene expression, a modification of the timing or developmentalprogress of gene expression, a mutation of DNA binding elements and/oran addition of DNA binding elements. Promoter elements to be deleted canbe, but are not limited to, promoter core elements, promoter enhancerelements or 35 S enhancer elements (as described in Example 32) Thepromoter or promoter fragment to be deleted can be endogenous,artificial, pre-existing, or transgenic to the cell that is beingedited.

In one embodiment, the guide polynucleotide/Cas endonuclease system canbe used to delete the ARGOS 8 promoter present in a maize genome asdescribed herein.

In one embodiment, the guide polynucleotide/Cas endonuclease system canbe used to delete a 35S enhancer element present in a plant genome asdescribed herein.

Terminator Modifications using the Guide Polynucleotide/Cas EndonucleaseSystem

In one embodiment the nucleotide sequence to be modified can be aterminator wherein the editing of the terminator comprises replacing theterminator (also referred to as a “terminator swap” or “terminatorreplacement”) or terminator fragment with a different terminator (alsoreferred to as replacement terminator) or terminator fragment (alsoreferred to as replacement terminator fragment), wherein the terminatorreplacement results in any one of the following or any one combinationof the following: an increased terminator activity, an increasedterminator tissue specificity, a decreased terminator activity, adecreased terminator tissue specificity, a mutation of DNA bindingelements and/or a deletion or addition of DNA binding elements.” Theterminator (or terminator fragment) to be modified can be a terminator(or terminator fragment) that is endogenous, artificial, pre-existing,or transgenic to the cell that is being edited. The replacementterminator (or replacement terminator fragment) can be a terminator (orterminator fragment) that is endogenous, artificial, pre-existing, ortransgenic to the cell that is being edited.

In one embodiment the nucleotide sequence to be modified can be aterminator wherein the terminator to be edited is selected from thegroup comprising terminators from maize Argos 8 or SRTF18 genes, orother terminators, such as potato PinII terminator, sorghum actinterminator (SB-ACTIN TERM, WO 2013/184537 A1 published December 2013),sorghum SB-GKAF TERM (WO2013019461), rice T28 terminator (OS-T28 TERM,WO 2013/012729 A2), AT-T9 TERM (WO 2013/012729 A2) or GZ-W64A TERM (U.S.Pat. No. 7,053,282).

In one embodiment, the guide polynucleotide/Cas endonuclease system canbe used in combination with a co-delivered polynucleotide modificationtemplate or donor DNA sequence to allow for the insertion of aterminator or terminator element into a genomic nucleotide sequence ofinterest, wherein the terminator insertion (or terminator elementinsertion) results in any one of the following or any one combination ofthe following: an increased terminator activity (increased terminatorstrength), an increased terminator tissue specificity, a decreasedterminator activity, a decreased terminator tissue specificity, amutation of DNA binding elements and/or an addition of DNA bindingelements.

-   The terminator (or terminator element) to be inserted can be a    terminator (or terminator element) that is endogenous, artificial,    pre-existing, or transgenic to the cell that is being edited.

In another embodiment, the guide polynucleotide/Cas endonuclease systemcan be used to allow for the deletion of a terminator or terminatorelement, wherein the terminator deletion (or terminator elementdeletion) results in any one of the following or any one combination ofthe following: an increased terminator activity (increased terminatorstrength), an increased terminator tissue specificity, a decreasedterminator activity, a decreased terminator tissue specificity, amutation of DNA binding elements and/or an addition of DNA bindingelements. The terminator or terminator fragment to be deleted can beendogenous, artificial, pre-existing, or transgenic to the cell that isbeing edited.

Additional Regulatory Sequence Modifications using the GuidePolynucleotide/Cas Endonuclease System

In one embodiment, the guide polynucleotide/Cas endonuclease system canbe used to modify or replace a regulatory sequence in the genome of acell. A regulatory sequence is a segment of a nucleic acid moleculewhich is capable of increasing or decreasing the expression of specificgenes within an organism and/or is capable of altering tissue specificexpression of genes within an organism. Examples of regulatory sequencesinclude, but are not limited to, 3′ UTR (untranslated region) region, 5′UTR region, transcription activators, transcriptional enhancerstranscriptions repressors, translational repressors, splicing factors,miRNAs, siRNA, artificial miRNAs, promoter elements, CAMV 35 S enhancer,MMV enhancer elements (PCT/US14/23451 filed Mar. 11, 2013), SECISelements, polyadenylation signals, and polyubiquitination sites. In someembodiments the editing (modification) or replacement of a regulatoryelement results in altered protein translation, RNA cleavage, RNAsplicing, transcriptional termination or post translationalmodification. In one embodiment, regulatory elements can be identifiedwithin a promoter and these regulatory elements can be edited ormodified do to optimize these regulatory elements for up or downregulation of the promoter.

In one embodiment, the genomic sequence of interest to be modified is apolyubiquitination site, wherein the modification of thepolyubiquitination sites results in a modified rate of proteindegradation. The ubiquitin tag condemns proteins to be degraded byproteasomes or autophagy. Proteasome inhibitors are known to cause aprotein overproduction. Modifications made to a DNA sequence encoding aprotein of interest can result in at least one amino acid modificationof the protein of interest, wherein said modification allows for thepolyubiquitination of the protein (a post translational modification)resulting in a modification of the protein degradation

In one embodiment, the genomic sequence of interest to be modified is apolyubiquitination site on a maize EPSPS gene, wherein thepolyubiquitination site modified resulting in an increased proteincontent due to a slower rate of EPSPS protein degradation.

In one embodiment, the genomic sequence of interest to be modified is aan intron site, wherein the modification consist of inserting an intronenhancing motif into the intron which results in modulation of thetranscriptional activity of the gene comprising said intron.

In one embodiment, the genomic sequence of interest to be modified is aan intron site, wherein the modification consist of replacing a soybeanEPSP1 intron with a soybean ubiquitin intron 1 as described herein(Example 25)

In one embodiment, the genomic sequence of interest to be modified is aan intron or UTR site, wherein the modification consist of inserting atleast one microRNA into said intron or UTR site, wherein expression ofthe gene comprising the intron or UTR site also results in expression ofsaid microRNA, which in turn can silence any gene targeted by themicroRNA without disrupting the gene expression of the native/transgenecomprising said intron.

In one embodiment, the guide polynucleotide/Cas endonuclease system canbe used to allow for the deletion or mutation of a Zinc Fingertranscription factor, wherein the deletion or mutation of the ZincFinger transcription factor results in or allows for the creation of adominant negative Zinc Finger transcription factor mutant (Li et al 2013Rice zinc finger protein DST enhances grain production throughcontrolling Gn1a/OsCKX2 expression PNAS 110:3167-3172). Insertion of asingle base pair downstream zinc finger domain will result in a frameshift and produces a new protein which still can bind to DNA withouttranscription activity. The mutant protein will compete to bind tocytokinin oxidase gene promoters and block the expression of cytokininoxidase gene. Reduction of cytokinin oxidase gene expression willincrease cytokinin level and promote panicle growth in rice and eargrowth in maize, and increase yield under normal and stress conditions.

Modifications of Splicing Sites and/or Introducing Alternate SplicingSites using the Guide Polynucleotide/Cas Endonuclease System

Protein synthesis utilizes mRNA molecules that emerge from pre-mRNAmolecules subjected to the maturation process. The pre-mRNA moleculesare capped, spliced and stabilized by addition of polyA tails.Eukaryotic cells developed a complex process of splicing that result inalternative variants of the original pre-mRNA molecules. Some of themmay not produce functional templates for protein synthesis. In maizecells, the splicing process is affected by splicing sites at theexon-intron junction sites. An example of a canonical splice site isAGGT. Gene coding sequences can contains a number of alternate splicingsites that may affect the overall efficiency of the pre-mRNA maturationprocess and as such may limit the protein accumulation in cells. Theguide polynucleotide/Cas endonuclease system can be used in combinationwith a co-delivered polynucleotide modification template to edit a geneof interest to introduce a canonical splice site at a described junctionor any variant of a splicing site that changes the splicing pattern ofpre-mRNA molecules.

In one embodiment, the nucleotide sequence of interest to be modified isa maize EPSPS gene, wherein the modification of the gene consists ofmodifying alternative splicing sites resulting in enhanced production ofthe functional gene transcripts and gene products (proteins).

In one embodiment, the nucleotide sequence of interest to be modified isa gene, wherein the modification of the gene consists of editing theintron borders of alternatively spliced genes to alter the accumulationof splice variants.

Modifications of Nucleotide Sequences Encoding a Protein of Interestusing the Guide Polynucleotide/Cas Endonuclease System

In one embodiment, the guide polynucleotide/Cas endonuclease system canbe used to modify or replace a coding sequence in the genome of a cell,wherein the modification or replacement results in any one of thefollowing, or any one combination of the following: an increased protein(enzyme) activity, an increased protein functionality, a decreasedprotein activity, a decreased protein functionality, a site specificmutation, a protein domain swap, a protein knock-out, a new proteinfunctionality, a modified protein functionality.

In one embodiment the protein knockout is due to the introduction of astop codon into the coding sequence of interest.

In one embodiment the protein knockout is due to the deletion of a startcodon into the coding sequence of interest.

Amino Acid and/or Protein Fusions using the Guide Polynucleotide/CasEndonuclease System

In one embodiment, the guide polynucleotide/Cas endonuclease system canbe used with or without a co-delivered polynucleotide sequence to fuse afirst coding sequence encoding a first protein to a second codingsequence encoding a second protein in the genome of a cell, wherein theprotein fusion results in any one of the following or any onecombination of the following: an increased protein (enzyme) activity, anincreased protein functionality, a decreased protein activity, adecreased protein functionality, a new protein functionality, a modifiedprotein functionality, a new protein localization, a new timing ofprotein expression, a modified protein expression pattern, a chimericprotein, or a modified protein with dominant phenotype functionality.

In one embodiment, the guide polynucleotide/Cas endonuclease system canbe used with or without a co-delivered polynucleotide sequence to fuse afirst coding sequence encoding a chloroplast localization signal to asecond coding sequence encoding a protein of interest, wherein theprotein fusion results in targeting the protein of interest to thechloroplast.

In one embodiment, the guide polynucleotide/Cas endonuclease system canbe used with or without a co-delivered polynucleotide sequence to fuse afirst coding sequence encoding a chloroplast localization signal to asecond coding sequence encoding a protein of interest, wherein theprotein fusion results in targeting the protein of interest to thechloroplast.

In one embodiment, the guide polynucleotide/Cas endonuclease system canbe used with or without a co-delivered polynucleotide sequence to fuse afirst coding sequence encoding a chloroplast localization signal (e.g.,a chloroplast transit peptide) to a second coding sequence, wherein theprotein fusion results in a modified protein with dominant phenotypefunctionality

Gene Silencing by Expressing an Inverted Repeat into a Gene of Interestusing the Guide Polynucleotide/Cas Endonuclease System

In one embodiment, the guide polynucleotide/Cas endonuclease system canbe used in combination with a co-delivered polynucleotide sequence toinsert an inverted gene fragment into a gene of interest in the genomeof an organism, wherein the insertion of the inverted gene fragment canallow for an in-vivo creation of an inverted repeat (hairpin) andresults in the silencing of said endogenous gene.

In one embodiment the insertion of the inverted gene fragment can resultin the formation of an in-vivo created inverted repeat (hairpin) in anative (or modified) promoter of a gene and/or in a native 5′ end of thenative gene. The inverted gene fragment can further comprise an intronwhich can result in an enhanced silencing of the targeted gene.

Genome Deletion for Trait Locus Characterization

Trait mapping in plant breeding often results in the detection ofchromosomal regions housing one or more genes controlling expression ofa trait of interest. For a qualitative trait, the guidepolynucleotide/Cas endonuclease system can be used to eliminatecandidate genes in the identified chromosomal regions to determine ifdeletion of the gene affects expression of the trait. For quantitativetraits, expression of a trait of interest is governed by multiplequantitative trait loci (QTL) of varying effect-size, complexity, andstatistical significance across one or more chromosomes. In cases ofnegative effect or deleterious QTL regions affecting a complex trait,the guide polynucleotide/Cas endonuclease system can be used toeliminate whole regions delimited by marker-assisted fine mapping, andto target specific regions for their selective elimination orrearrangement. Similarly, presence/absence variation (PAV) or copynumber variation (CNV) can be manipulated with selective genome deletionusing the guide polynucleotide/Cas endonuclease system.

In one embodiment, the region of interest can be flanked by twoindependent guide polynucleotide/CAS endonuclease target sequences.Cutting would be done concurrently. The deletion event would be therepair of the two chromosomal ends without the region of interest.Alternative results would include inversions of the region of interest,mutations at the cut sites and duplication of the region of interest.

Methods for Identifying at Least one Plant Cell Comprising in its Genomea Polynucleotide of Interest Integrated at the Target Site.

Further provided are methods for identifying at least one plant cellcomprising in its genome a polynucleotide of Interest integrated at thetarget site. A variety of methods are available for identifying thoseplant cells with insertion into the genome at or near to the target sitewithout using a screenable marker phenotype. Such methods can be viewedas directly analyzing a target sequence to detect any change in thetarget sequence, including but not limited to PCR methods, sequencingmethods, nuclease digestion, Southern blots, and any combinationthereof. See, for example, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/147,834,herein incorporated by reference to the extent necessary for the methodsdescribed herein. The method also comprises recovering a plant from theplant cell comprising a polynucleotide of Interest integrated into itsgenome. The plant may be sterile or fertile. It is recognized that anypolynucleotide of interest can be provided, integrated into the plantgenome at the target site, and expressed in a plant.

Polynucleotides/polypeptides of interest include, but are not limitedto, herbicide-resistance coding sequences, insecticidal codingsequences, nematicidal coding sequences, antimicrobial coding sequences,antifungal coding sequences, antiviral coding sequences, abiotic andbiotic stress tolerance coding sequences, or sequences modifying planttraits such as yield, grain quality, nutrient content, starch qualityand quantity, nitrogen fixation and/or utilization, and oil contentand/or composition. More specific polynucleotides of interest include,but are not limited to, genes that improve crop yield, polypeptides thatimprove desirability of crops, genes encoding proteins conferringresistance to abiotic stress, such as drought, nitrogen, temperature,salinity, toxic metals or trace elements, or those conferring resistanceto toxins such as pesticides and herbicides, or to biotic stress, suchas attacks by fungi, viruses, bacteria, insects, and nematodes, anddevelopment of diseases associated with these organisms. Generalcategories of genes of interest include, for example, those genesinvolved in information, such as zinc fingers, those involved incommunication, such as kinases, and those involved in housekeeping, suchas heat shock proteins. More specific categories of transgenes, forexample, include genes encoding important traits for agronomics, insectresistance, disease resistance, herbicide resistance, fertility orsterility, grain characteristics, and commercial products. Genes ofinterest include, generally, those involved in oil, starch,carbohydrate, or nutrient metabolism as well as those affecting kernelsize, sucrose loading, and the like that can be stacked or used incombination with glyphosate resistance described herein.

Agronomically important traits such as oil, starch, and protein contentcan be genetically altered in addition to using traditional breedingmethods. Modifications include increasing content of oleic acid,saturated and unsaturated oils, increasing levels of lysine and sulfur,providing essential amino acids, and also modification of starch.Hordothionin protein modifications are described in U.S. Pat. Nos.5,703,049, 5,885,801, 5,885,802, and 5,990,389, herein incorporated byreference. Another example is lysine and/or sulfur rich seed proteinencoded by the soybean 2S albumin described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,850,016,and the chymotrypsin inhibitor from barley, described in Williamson etal. (1987) Eur. J. Biochem. 165:99-106, the disclosures of which areherein incorporated by reference.

Commercial traits can also be encoded on a polynucleotide of interestthat could increase for example, starch for ethanol production, orprovide expression of proteins. Another important commercial use oftransformed plants is the production of polymers and bioplastics such asdescribed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,602,321. Genes such as β-Ketothiolase,PHBase (polyhydroxybutyrate synthase), and acetoacetyl-CoA reductase(see Schubert et al. (1988) J. Bacteriol. 170:5837-5847) facilitateexpression of polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs).

Derivatives of the coding sequences can be made by site-directedmutagenesis to increase the level of preselected amino acids in theencoded polypeptide. For example, the gene encoding the barley highlysine polypeptide (BHL) is derived from barley chymotrypsin inhibitor,U.S. application Ser. No. 08/740,682, filed Nov. 1, 1996, and WO98/20133, the disclosures of which are herein incorporated by reference.Other proteins include methionine-rich plant proteins such as fromsunflower seed (Lilley et al. (1989) Proceedings of the World Congresson Vegetable Protein Utilization in Human Foods and Animal Feedstuffs,ed. Applewhite (American Oil Chemists Society, Champaign, Ill.), pp.497-502; herein incorporated by reference); corn (Pedersen et al. (1986)J. Biol. Chem. 261:6279; Kirihara et al. (1988) Gene 71:359; both ofwhich are herein incorporated by reference); and rice (Musumura et al.(1989) Plant Mol. Biol. 12:123, herein incorporated by reference). Otheragronomically important genes encode latex, Floury 2, growth factors,seed storage factors, and transcription factors.

Polynucleotides that improve crop yield include dwarfing genes, such asRht1 and Rht2 (Peng et al. (1999) Nature 400:256-261), and those thatincrease plant growth, such as ammonium-inducible glutamatedehydrogenase. Polynucleotides that improve desirability of cropsinclude, for example, those that allow plants to have reduced saturatedfat content, those that boost the nutritional value of plants, and thosethat increase grain protein. Polynucleotides that improve salt toleranceare those that increase or allow plant growth in an environment ofhigher salinity than the native environment of the plant into which thesalt-tolerant gene(s) has been introduced.

Polynucleotides/polypeptides that influence amino acid biosynthesisinclude, for example, anthranilate synthase (AS; EC 4.1.3.27) whichcatalyzes the first reaction branching from the aromatic amino acidpathway to the biosynthesis of tryptophan in plants, fungi, andbacteria. In plants, the chemical processes for the biosynthesis oftryptophan are compartmentalized in the chloroplast. See, for example,US Pub. 20080050506, herein incorporated by reference. Additionalsequences of interest include Chorismate Pyruvate Lyase (CPL) whichrefers to a gene encoding an enzyme which catalyzes the conversion ofchorismate to pyruvate and pHBA. The most well characterized CPL genehas been isolated from E. coli and bears the GenBank accession numberM96268. See, U.S. Pat. No. 7,361,811, herein incorporated by reference.

Polynucleotide sequences of interest may encode proteins involved inproviding disease or pest resistance. By “disease resistance” or “pestresistance” is intended that the plants avoid the harmful symptoms thatare the outcome of the plant-pathogen interactions. Pest resistancegenes may encode resistance to pests that have great yield drag such asrootworm, cutworm, European Corn Borer, and the like. Disease resistanceand insect resistance genes such as lysozymes or cecropins forantibacterial protection, or proteins such as defensins, glucanases orchitinases for antifungal protection, or Bacillus thuringiensisendotoxins, protease inhibitors, collagenases, lectins, or glycosidasesfor controlling nematodes or insects are all examples of useful geneproducts. Genes encoding disease resistance traits includedetoxification genes, such as against fumonisin (U.S. Pat. No.5,792,931); avirulence (avr) and disease resistance (R) genes (Jones etal. (1994) Science 266:789; Martin et al. (1993) Science 262:1432; andMindrinos et al. (1994) Cell 78:1089); and the like. Insect resistancegenes may encode resistance to pests that have great yield drag such asrootworm, cutworm, European Corn Borer, and the like. Such genesinclude, for example, Bacillus thuringiensis toxic protein genes (U.S.Pat. Nos. 5,366,892; 5,747,450; 5,736,514; 5,723,756; 5,593,881; andGeiser et al. (1986) Gene 48:109); and the like.

An “herbicide resistance protein” or a protein resulting from expressionof an “herbicide resistance-encoding nucleic acid molecule” includesproteins that confer upon a cell the ability to tolerate a higherconcentration of an herbicide than cells that do not express theprotein, or to tolerate a certain concentration of an herbicide for alonger period of time than cells that do not express the protein.Herbicide resistance traits may be introduced into plants by genescoding for resistance to herbicides that act to inhibit the action ofacetolactate synthase (ALS), in particular the sulfonylurea-typeherbicides, genes coding for resistance to herbicides that act toinhibit the action of glutamine synthase, such as phosphinothricin orbasta (e.g., the bar gene), glyphosate (e.g., the EPSP synthase gene andthe GAT gene), HPPD inhibitors (e.g., the HPPD gene) or other such genesknown in the art. See, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,626,077, 5,310,667,5,866,775, 6,225,114, 6,248,876, 7,169,970, 6,867,293, and U.S.Provisional Application No. 61/401,456, each of which is hereinincorporated by reference. The bar gene encodes resistance to theherbicide basta, the nptII gene encodes resistance to the antibioticskanamycin and geneticin, and the ALS-gene mutants encode resistance tothe herbicide chlorsulfuron.

Sterility genes can also be encoded in an expression cassette andprovide an alternative to physical detasseling. Examples of genes usedin such ways include male fertility genes such as MS26 (see for exampleU.S. Pat. Nos. 7,098,388, 7,517,975, 7,612,251), MS45 (see for exampleU.S. Pat. Nos. 5,478,369, 6,265,640) or MSCA1 (see for example U.S. Pat.No. 7,919,676). Maize plants (Zea mays L.) can be bred by bothself-pollination and cross-pollination techniques. Maize has maleflowers, located on the tassel, and female flowers, located on the ear,on the same plant. It can self-pollinate (“selfing”) or cross pollinate.Natural pollination occurs in maize when wind blows pollen from thetassels to the silks that protrude from the tops of the incipient ears.Pollination may be readily controlled by techniques known to those ofskill in the art. The development of maize hybrids requires thedevelopment of homozygous inbred lines, the crossing of these lines, andthe evaluation of the crosses. Pedigree breeding and recurrentselections are two of the breeding methods used to develop inbred linesfrom populations. Breeding programs combine desirable traits from two ormore inbred lines or various broad-based sources into breeding poolsfrom which new inbred lines are developed by selfing and selection ofdesired phenotypes. A hybrid maize variety is the cross of two suchinbred lines, each of which may have one or more desirablecharacteristics lacked by the other or which complement the other. Thenew inbreds are crossed with other inbred lines and the hybrids fromthese crosses are evaluated to determine which have commercialpotential. The hybrid progeny of the first generation is designated F1.The F1 hybrid is more vigorous than its inbred parents. This hybridvigor, or heterosis, can be manifested in many ways, including increasedvegetative growth and increased yield.

Hybrid maize seed can be produced by a male sterility systemincorporating manual detasseling. To produce hybrid seed, the maletassel is removed from the growing female inbred parent, which can beplanted in various alternating row patterns with the male inbred parent.Consequently, providing that there is sufficient isolation from sourcesof foreign maize pollen, the ears of the female inbred will befertilized only with pollen from the male inbred. The resulting seed istherefore hybrid (F1) and will form hybrid plants.

Field variation impacting plant development can result in plantstasseling after manual detasseling of the female parent is completed.Or, a female inbred plant tassel may not be completely removed duringthe detasseling process. In any event, the result is that the femaleplant will successfully shed pollen and some female plants will beself-pollinated. This will result in seed of the female inbred beingharvested along with the hybrid seed which is normally produced. Femaleinbred seed does not exhibit heterosis and therefore is not asproductive as F1 seed. In addition, the presence of female inbred seedcan represent a germplasm security risk for the company producing thehybrid.

Alternatively, the female inbred can be mechanically detasseled bymachine. Mechanical detasseling is approximately as reliable as handdetasseling, but is faster and less costly. However, most detasselingmachines produce more damage to the plants than hand detasseling. Thus,no form of detasseling is presently entirely satisfactory, and a needcontinues to exist for alternatives which further reduce productioncosts and to eliminate self-pollination of the female parent in theproduction of hybrid seed.

Mutations that cause male sterility in plants have the potential to beuseful in methods for hybrid seed production for crop plants such asmaize and can lower production costs by eliminating the need for thelabor-intensive removal of male flowers (also known as de-tasseling)from the maternal parent plants used as a hybrid parent. Mutations thatcause male sterility in maize have been produced by a variety of methodssuch as X-rays or UV-irradiations, chemical treatments, or transposableelement insertions (ms23, ms25, ms26, ms32) (Chaubal et al. (2000) Am JBot 87:1193-1201). Conditional regulation of fertility genes throughfertility/sterility “molecular switches” could enhance the options fordesigning new male-sterility systems for crop improvement (Unger et al.(2002) Transgenic Res 11:455-465).

Besides identification of novel genes impacting male fertility, thereremains a need to provide a reliable system of producing genetic malesterility.

In U.S. Pat. No. 5,478,369, a method is described by which the Ms45 malefertility gene was tagged and cloned on maize chromosome 9. Previously,there had been described a male fertility gene on chromosome 9, ms2,which had never been cloned and sequenced. It is not allelic to the genereferred to in the '369 patent. See Albertsen, M. and Phillips, R. L.,“Developmental Cytology of 13 Genetic Male Sterile Loci in Maize”Canadian Journal of Genetics & Cytology 23:195-208 (January 1981). Theonly fertility gene cloned before that had been the Arabidopsis genedescribed at Aarts, et al., supra.

Examples of genes that have been discovered subsequently that areimportant to male fertility are numerous and include the ArabidopsisABORTED MICROSPORES (AMS) gene, Sorensen et al., The Plant Journal(2003) 33(2):413-423); the Arabidopsis MS1 gene (Wilson et al., ThePlant Journal (2001) 39(2):170-181); the NEF1 gene (Ariizumi et al., ThePlant Journal (2004) 39(2):170-181); Arabidopsis AtGPAT1 gene (Zheng etal., The Plant Cell (2003) 15:1872-1887); the Arabidopsis dde2-2mutation was shown to be defective in the allene oxide syntase gene(Malek et al., Planta (2002)216:187-192); the Arabidopsis facelesspollen-1 gene (flp1) (Ariizumi et al, Plant Mol. Biol. (2003)53:107-116); the Arabidopsis MALE MEIOCYTE DEATH1 gene (Yang et al., ThePlant Cell (2003) 15: 1281-1295); the tapetum-specific zinc finger gene,TAZ1 (Kapoor et al., The Plant Cell (2002) 14:2353-2367); and theTAPETUM DETERMINANT1 gene (Lan et al, The Plant Cell (2003)15:2792-2804).

Other known male fertility mutants or genes from Zea mays are listed inU.S. Pat. No. 7,919,676 incorporated herein by reference.

Other genes include kinases and those encoding compounds toxic to eithermale or female gametophytic development.

Furthermore, it is recognized that the polynucleotide of interest mayalso comprise antisense sequences complementary to at least a portion ofthe messenger RNA (mRNA) for a targeted gene sequence of interest.Antisense nucleotides are constructed to hybridize with thecorresponding mRNA. Modifications of the antisense sequences may be madeas long as the sequences hybridize to and interfere with expression ofthe corresponding mRNA. In this manner, antisense constructions having70%, 80%, or 85% sequence identity to the corresponding antisensesequences may be used. Furthermore, portions of the antisensenucleotides may be used to disrupt the expression of the target gene.Generally, sequences of at least 50 nucleotides, 100 nucleotides, 200nucleotides, or greater may be used.

In addition, the polynucleotide of interest may also be used in thesense orientation to suppress the expression of endogenous genes inplants. Methods for suppressing gene expression in plants usingpolynucleotides in the sense orientation are known in the art. Themethods generally involve transforming plants with a DNA constructcomprising a promoter that drives expression in a plant operably linkedto at least a portion of a nucleotide sequence that corresponds to thetranscript of the endogenous gene. Typically, such a nucleotide sequencehas substantial sequence identity to the sequence of the transcript ofthe endogenous gene, generally greater than about 65% sequence identity,about 85% sequence identity, or greater than about 95% sequenceidentity. See, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,283,184 and 5,034,323; hereinincorporated by reference.

The polynucleotide of interest can also be a phenotypic marker. Aphenotypic marker is screenable or a selectable marker that includesvisual markers and selectable markers whether it is a positive ornegative selectable marker. Any phenotypic marker can be used.Specifically, a selectable or screenable marker comprises a DNA segmentthat allows one to identify, or select for or against a molecule or acell that contains it, often under particular conditions. These markerscan encode an activity, such as, but not limited to, production of RNA,peptide, or protein, or can provide a binding site for RNA, peptides,proteins, inorganic and organic compounds or compositions and the like.

Examples of selectable markers include, but are not limited to, DNAsegments that comprise restriction enzyme sites; DNA segments thatencode products which provide resistance against otherwise toxiccompounds including antibiotics, such as, spectinomycin, ampicillin,kanamycin, tetracycline, Basta, neomycin phosphotransferase II (NEO) andhygromycin phosphotransferase (HPT)); DNA segments that encode productswhich are otherwise lacking in the recipient cell (e.g., tRNA genes,auxotrophic markers); DNA segments that encode products which can bereadily identified (e.g., phenotypic markers such as β-galactosidase,GUS; fluorescent proteins such as green fluorescent protein (GFP), cyan(CFP), yellow (YFP), red (RFP), and cell surface proteins); thegeneration of new primer sites for PCR (e.g., the juxtaposition of twoDNA sequence not previously juxtaposed), the inclusion of DNA sequencesnot acted upon or acted upon by a restriction endonuclease or other DNAmodifying enzyme, chemical, etc.; and, the inclusion of a DNA sequencesrequired for a specific modification (e.g., methylation) that allows itsidentification.

Additional selectable markers include genes that confer resistance toherbicidal compounds, such as glufosinate ammonium, bromoxynil,imidazolinones, and 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetate (2,4-D). See for example,Yarranton, (1992) Curr Opin Biotech 3:506-11; Christopherson et al.,(1992) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 89:6314-8; Yao et al., (1992) Cell71:63-72; Reznikoff, (1992) Mol Microbiol 6:2419-22; Hu et al., (1987)Cell 48:555-66; Brown et al., (1987) Cell 49:603-12; Figge et al.,(1988) Cell 52:713-22; Deuschle et al., (1989) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci.USA 86:5400-4; Fuerst et al., (1989) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA86:2549-53; Deuschle et al., (1990) Science 248:480-3; Gossen, (1993)Ph.D. Thesis, University of Heidelberg; Reines et al., (1993) Proc.Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 90:1917-21; Labow et al., (1990) Mol Cell Biol10:3343-56; Zambretti et al., (1992) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA89:3952-6; Bairn et al., (1991) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 88:5072-6;Wyborski et al., (1991) Nucleic Acids Res 19:4647-53; Hillen andWissman, (1989) Topics Mol Struc Biol 10:143-62; Degenkolb et al.,(1991) Antimicrob Agents Chemother 35:1591-5; Kleinschnidt et al.,(1988) Biochemistry 27:1094-104; Bonin, (1993) Ph.D. Thesis, Universityof Heidelberg; Gossen et al., (1992) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA89:5547-51; Oliva et al., (1992) Antimicrob Agents Chemother 36:913-9;Hlavka et al., (1985) Handbook of Experimental Pharmacology, Vol. 78(Springer-Verlag, Berlin); Gill et al., (1988) Nature 334:721-4.Commercial traits can also be encoded on a gene or genes that couldincrease for example, starch for ethanol production, or provideexpression of proteins. Another important commercial use of transformedplants is the production of polymers and bioplastics such as describedin U.S. Pat. No. 5,602,321. Genes such as β-Ketothiolase, PHBase(polyhydroxyburyrate synthase), and acetoacetyl-CoA reductase (seeSchubert et al. (1988) J. Bacteriol. 170:5837-5847) facilitateexpression of polyhyroxyalkanoates (PHAs).

Exogenous products include plant enzymes and products as well as thosefrom other sources including prokaryotes and other eukaryotes. Suchproducts include enzymes, cofactors, hormones, and the like. The levelof proteins, particularly modified proteins having improved amino aciddistribution to improve the nutrient value of the plant, can beincreased. This is achieved by the expression of such proteins havingenhanced amino acid content.

The transgenes, recombinant DNA molecules, DNA sequences of interest,and polynucleotides of interest can be comprise one or more DNAsequences for gene silencing. Methods for gene silencing involving theexpression of DNA sequences in plant are known in the art include, butare not limited to, cosuppression, antisense suppression,double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) interference, hairpin RNA (hpRNA)interference, intron-containing hairpin RNA (ihpRNA) interference,transcriptional gene silencing, and micro RNA (miRNA) interference

As used herein, “nucleic acid” means a polynucleotide and includes asingle or a double-stranded polymer of deoxyribonucleotide orribonucleotide bases. Nucleic acids may also include fragments andmodified nucleotides. Thus, the terms “polynucleotide”, “nucleic acidsequence”, “nucleotide sequence” and “nucleic acid fragment” are usedinterchangeably to denote a polymer of RNA and/or DNA that is single- ordouble-stranded, optionally containing synthetic, non-natural, oraltered nucleotide bases. Nucleotides (usually found in their5′-monophosphate form) are referred to by their single letterdesignation as follows: “A” for adenosine or deoxyadenosine (for RNA orDNA, respectively), “C” for cytosine or deoxycytosine, “G” for guanosineor deoxyguanosine, “U” for uridine, “T” for deoxythymidine, “R” forpurines (A or G), “Y” for pyrimidines (C or T), “K” for G or T, “H” forA or C or T, “I” for inosine, and “N” for any nucleotide.

“Open reading frame” is abbreviated ORF.

The terms “subfragment that is functionally equivalent” and“functionally equivalent subfragment” are used interchangeably herein.These terms refer to a portion or subsequence of an isolated nucleicacid fragment in which the ability to alter gene expression or produce acertain phenotype is retained whether or not the fragment or subfragmentencodes an active enzyme. For example, the fragment or subfragment canbe used in the design of genes to produce the desired phenotype in atransformed plant genes can be designed for use in suppression bylinking a nucleic acid fragment or subfragment thereof, whether or notit encodes an active enzyme, in the sense or antisense orientationrelative to a plant promoter sequence. The term “conserved domain” or“motif” means a set of amino acids conserved at specific positions alongan aligned sequence of evolutionarily related proteins. While aminoacids at other positions can vary between homologous proteins, aminoacids that are highly conserved at specific positions indicate aminoacids that are essential to the structure, the stability, or theactivity of a protein. Because they are identified by their high degreeof conservation in aligned sequences of a family of protein homologues,they can be used as identifiers, or “signatures”, to determine if aprotein with a newly determined sequence belongs to a previouslyidentified protein family.

Polynucleotide and polypeptide sequences, variants thereof, and thestructural relationships of these sequences can be described by theterms “homology”, “homologous”, “substantially identical”,“substantially similar” and “corresponding substantially” which are usedinterchangeably herein. These refer to polypeptide or nucleic acidfragments wherein changes in one or more amino acids or nucleotide basesdo not affect the function of the molecule, such as the ability tomediate gene expression or to produce a certain phenotype. These termsalso refer to modification(s) of nucleic acid fragments that do notsubstantially alter the functional properties of the resulting nucleicacid fragment relative to the initial, unmodified fragment. Thesemodifications include deletion, substitution, and/or insertion of one ormore nucleotides in the nucleic acid fragment.

Substantially similar nucleic acid sequences encompassed may be definedby their ability to hybridize (under moderately stringent conditions,e.g., 0.5×SSC, 0.1% SDS, 60° C.) with the sequences exemplified herein,or to any portion of the nucleotide sequences disclosed herein and whichare functionally equivalent to any of the nucleic acid sequencesdisclosed herein. Stringency conditions can be adjusted to screen formoderately similar fragments, such as homologous sequences fromdistantly related organisms, to highly similar fragments, such as genesthat duplicate functional enzymes from closely related organisms.Post-hybridization washes determine stringency conditions.

The term “selectively hybridizes” includes reference to hybridization,under stringent hybridization conditions, of a nucleic acid sequence toa specified nucleic acid target sequence to a detectably greater degree(e.g., at least 2-fold over background) than its hybridization tonon-target nucleic acid sequences and to the substantial exclusion ofnon-target nucleic acids. Selectively hybridizing sequences typicallyhave about at least 80% sequence identity, or 90% sequence identity, upto and including 100% sequence identity (i.e., fully complementary) witheach other.

The term “stringent conditions” or “stringent hybridization conditions”includes reference to conditions under which a probe will selectivelyhybridize to its target sequence in an in vitro hybridization assay.Stringent conditions are sequence-dependent and will be different indifferent circumstances. By controlling the stringency of thehybridization and/or washing conditions, target sequences can beidentified which are 100% complementary to the probe (homologousprobing). Alternatively, stringency conditions can be adjusted to allowsome mismatching in sequences so that lower degrees of similarity aredetected (heterologous probing). Generally, a probe is less than about1000 nucleotides in length, optionally less than 500 nucleotides inlength.

Typically, stringent conditions will be those in which the saltconcentration is less than about 1.5 M Na ion, typically about 0.01 to1.0 M Na ion concentration (or other salt(s)) at pH 7.0 to 8.3, and atleast about 30° C. for short probes (e.g., 10 to 50 nucleotides) and atleast about 60° C. for long probes (e.g., greater than 50 nucleotides).Stringent conditions may also be achieved with the addition ofdestabilizing agents such as formamide. Exemplary low stringencyconditions include hybridization with a buffer solution of 30 to 35%formamide, 1 M NaCl, 1% SDS (sodium dodecyl sulphate) at 37° C., and awash in 1× to 2×SSC (20×SSC=3.0 M NaCl/0.3 M trisodium citrate) at 50 to55° C. Exemplary moderate stringency conditions include hybridization in40 to 45% formamide, 1 M NaCl, 1% SDS at 37° C., and a wash in 0.5× to1×SSC at 55 to 60° C. Exemplary high stringency conditions includehybridization in 50% formamide, 1 M NaCl, 1% SDS at 37° C., and a washin 0.1×SSC at 60 to 65° C.

“Sequence identity” or “identity” in the context of nucleic acid orpolypeptide sequences refers to the nucleic acid bases or amino acidresidues in two sequences that are the same when aligned for maximumcorrespondence over a specified comparison window.

The term “percentage of sequence identity” refers to the valuedetermined by comparing two optimally aligned sequences over acomparison window, wherein the portion of the polynucleotide orpolypeptide sequence in the comparison window may comprise additions ordeletions (i.e., gaps) as compared to the reference sequence (which doesnot comprise additions or deletions) for optimal alignment of the twosequences. The percentage is calculated by determining the number ofpositions at which the identical nucleic acid base or amino acid residueoccurs in both sequences to yield the number of matched positions,dividing the number of matched positions by the total number ofpositions in the window of comparison and multiplying the results by 100to yield the percentage of sequence identity. Useful examples of percentsequence identities include, but are not limited to, 50%, 55%, 60%, 65%,70%, 75%, 80%, 85%, 90% or 95%, or any integer percentage from 50% to100%. These identities can be determined using any of the programsdescribed herein.

Sequence alignments and percent identity or similarity calculations maybe determined using a variety of comparison methods designed to detecthomologous sequences including, but not limited to, the MegAlign™program of the LASERGENE bioinformatics computing suite (DNASTAR Inc.,Madison, Wis.). Within the context of this application it will beunderstood that where sequence analysis software is used for analysis,that the results of the analysis will be based on the “default values”of the program referenced, unless otherwise specified. As used herein“default values” will mean any set of values or parameters thatoriginally load with the software when first initialized.

The “Clustal V method of alignment” corresponds to the alignment methodlabeled Clustal V (described by Higgins and Sharp, (1989) CABIOS5:151-153; Higgins et al., (1992) Comput Appl Biosci 8:189-191) andfound in the MegAlign™ program of the LASERGENE bioinformatics computingsuite (DNASTAR Inc., Madison, Wis.). For multiple alignments, thedefault values correspond to GAP PENALTY=10 and GAP LENGTH PENALTY=10.Default parameters for pairwise alignments and calculation of percentidentity of protein sequences using the Clustal method are KTUPLE=1, GAPPENALTY=3, WINDOW=5 and DIAGONALS SAVED=5. For nucleic acids theseparameters are KTUPLE=2, GAP PENALTY=5, WINDOW=4 and DIAGONALS SAVED=4.After alignment of the sequences using the Clustal V program, it ispossible to obtain a “percent identity” by viewing the “sequencedistances” table in the same program.

The “Clustal W method of alignment” corresponds to the alignment methodlabeled Clustal W (described by Higgins and Sharp, (1989) CABIOS5:151-153; Higgins et al., (1992) Comput Appl Biosci 8:189-191) andfound in the MegAlign™ v6.1 program of the LASERGENE bioinformaticscomputing suite (DNASTAR Inc., Madison, Wis.). Default parameters formultiple alignment (GAP PENALTY=10, GAP LENGTH PENALTY=0.2, DelayDivergen Seqs (%)=30, DNA Transition Weight=0.5, Protein WeightMatrix=Gonnet Series, DNA Weight Matrix=IUB). After alignment of thesequences using the Clustal W program, it is possible to obtain a“percent identity” by viewing the “sequence distances” table in the sameprogram.

Unless otherwise stated, sequence identity/similarity values providedherein refer to the value obtained using GAP Version 10 (GCG, Accelrys,San Diego, Calif.) using the following parameters: % identity and %similarity for a nucleotide sequence using a gap creation penalty weightof 50 and a gap length extension penalty weight of 3, and thenwsgapdna.cmp scoring matrix; % identity and % similarity for an aminoacid sequence using a GAP creation penalty weight of 8 and a gap lengthextension penalty of 2, and the BLOSUM62 scoring matrix (Henikoff andHenikoff, (1989) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 89:10915). GAP uses thealgorithm of Needleman and Wunsch, (1970) J Mol Bio 48:443-53, to findan alignment of two complete sequences that maximizes the number ofmatches and minimizes the number of gaps. GAP considers all possiblealignments and gap positions and creates the alignment with the largestnumber of matched bases and the fewest gaps, using a gap creationpenalty and a gap extension penalty in units of matched bases.

“BLAST” is a searching algorithm provided by the National Center forBiotechnology Information (NCBI) used to find regions of similaritybetween biological sequences. The program compares nucleotide or proteinsequences to sequence databases and calculates the statisticalsignificance of matches to identify sequences having sufficientsimilarity to a query sequence such that the similarity would not bepredicted to have occurred randomly. BLAST reports the identifiedsequences and their local alignment to the query sequence.

It is well understood by one skilled in the art that many levels ofsequence identity are useful in identifying polypeptides from otherspecies or modified naturally or synthetically wherein such polypeptideshave the same or similar function or activity. Useful examples ofpercent identities include, but are not limited to, 50%, 55%, 60%, 65%,70%, 75%, 80%, 85%, 90% or 95%, or any integer percentage from 50% to100%. Indeed, any integer amino acid identity from 50% to 100% may beuseful in describing the present disclosure, such as 51%, 52%, 53%, 54%,55%, 56%, 57%, 58%, 59%, 60%, 61%, 62%, 63%, 64%, 65%, 66%, 67%, 68%,69%, 70%, 71%, 72%, 73%, 74.%, 75%, 76%, 77%, 78%, 79%, 80%, 81%, 82%,83%, 84%, 85%, 86%, 87%, 88%, 89%, 90%, 91%, 92%, 93%, 94%, 95%, 96%,97%, 98% or 99%.

“Gene” includes a nucleic acid fragment that expresses a functionalmolecule such as, but not limited to, a specific protein, includingregulatory sequences preceding (5′ non-coding sequences) and following(3′ non-coding sequences) the coding sequence. “Native gene” refers to agene as found in nature with its own regulatory sequences.

A “mutated gene” is a gene that has been altered through humanintervention. Such a “mutated gene” has a sequence that differs from thesequence of the corresponding non-mutated gene by at least onenucleotide addition, deletion, or substitution. In certain embodimentsof the disclosure, the mutated gene comprises an alteration that resultsfrom a guide polynucleotide/Cas endonuclease system as disclosed herein.A mutated plant is a plant comprising a mutated gene.

As used herein, a “targeted mutation” is a mutation in a native genethat was made by altering a target sequence within the native gene usinga method involving a double-strand-break-inducing agent that is capableof inducing a double-strand break in the DNA of the target sequence asdisclosed herein or known in the art.

In one embodiment, the targeted mutation is the result of a guideRNA/Casendonuclease induced gene editing as described herein. The guide RNA/Casendonuclease induced targeted mutation can occur in a nucleotidesequence that is located within or outside a genomic target site that isrecognized and cleaved by a Cas endonuclease.

The term “genome” as it applies to a plant cells encompasses not onlychromosomal DNA found within the nucleus, but organelle DNA found withinsubcellular components (e.g., mitochondria, or plastid) of the cell.

A “codon-modified gene” or “codon-preferred gene” or “codon-optimizedgene” is a gene having its frequency of codon usage designed to mimicthe frequency of preferred codon usage of the host cell.

An “allele” is one of several alternative forms of a gene occupying agiven locus on a chromosome. When all the alleles present at a givenlocus on a chromosome are the same, that plant is homozygous at thatlocus. If the alleles present at a given locus on a chromosome differ,that plant is heterozygous at that locus.

“Coding sequence” refers to a polynucleotide sequence which codes for aspecific amino acid sequence. “Regulatory sequences” refer to nucleotidesequences located upstream (5′ non-coding sequences), within, ordownstream (3′ non-coding sequences) of a coding sequence, and whichinfluence the transcription, RNA processing or stability, or translationof the associated coding sequence. Regulatory sequences may include, butare not limited to: promoters, translation leader sequences, 5′untranslated sequences, 3′ untranslated sequences, introns,polyadenylation target sequences, RNA processing sites, effector bindingsites, and stem-loop structures.

“A plant-optimized nucleotide sequence” is nucleotide sequence that hasbeen optimized for increased expression in plants, particularly forincreased expression in plants or in one or more plants of interest. Forexample, a plant-optimized nucleotide sequence can be synthesized bymodifying a nucleotide sequence encoding a protein such as, for example,double-strand-break-inducing agent (e.g., an endonuclease) as disclosedherein, using one or more plant-preferred codons for improvedexpression. See, for example, Campbell and Gowri (1990) Plant Physiol.92:1-11 for a discussion of host-preferred codon usage.

Methods are available in the art for synthesizing plant-preferred genes.See, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,380,831, and 5,436,391, and Murray etal. (1989) Nucleic Acids Res. 17:477-498, herein incorporated byreference. Additional sequence modifications are known to enhance geneexpression in a plant host. These include, for example, elimination of:one or more sequences encoding spurious polyadenylation signals, one ormore exon-intron splice site signals, one or more transposon-likerepeats, and other such well-characterized sequences that may bedeleterious to gene expression. The G-C content of the sequence may beadjusted to levels average for a given plant host, as calculated byreference to known genes expressed in the host plant cell. Whenpossible, the sequence is modified to avoid one or more predictedhairpin secondary mRNA structures. Thus, “a plant-optimized nucleotidesequence” of the present disclosure comprises one or more of suchsequence modifications.

“Promoter” refers to a DNA sequence capable of controlling theexpression of a coding sequence or functional RNA. The promoter sequenceconsists of proximal and more distal upstream elements, the latterelements often referred to as enhancers. An “enhancer” is a DNA sequencethat can stimulate promoter activity, and may be an innate element ofthe promoter or a heterologous element inserted to enhance the level ortissue-specificity of a promoter. Promoters may be derived in theirentirety from a native gene, or be composed of different elementsderived from different promoters found in nature, and/or comprisesynthetic DNA segments. It is understood by those skilled in the artthat different promoters may direct the expression of a gene indifferent tissues or cell types, or at different stages of development,or in response to different environmental conditions. It is furtherrecognized that since in most cases the exact boundaries of regulatorysequences have not been completely defined, DNA fragments of somevariation may have identical promoter activity. Promoters that cause agene to be expressed in most cell types at most times are commonlyreferred to as “constitutive promoters”.

It has been shown that certain promoters are able to direct RNAsynthesis at a higher rate than others. These are called “strongpromoters”. Certain other promoters have been shown to direct RNAsynthesis at higher levels only in particular types of cells or tissuesand are often referred to as “tissue specific promoters”, or“tissue-preferred promoters” if the promoters direct RNA synthesispreferably in certain tissues but also in other tissues at reducedlevels. Since patterns of expression of a chimeric gene (or genes)introduced into a plant are controlled using promoters, there is anongoing interest in the isolation of novel promoters which are capableof controlling the expression of a chimeric gene or (genes) at certainlevels in specific tissue types or at specific plant developmentalstages.

Some embodiments of the disclosures relate to newly discovered U6 RNApolymerase III promoters, GM-U6-13.1 (SEQ ID NO: 120) as described inExample 12 and GM-U6-9.1 (SEQ ID NO: 295) described in Example 19.

Non-limiting examples of methods and compositions relating to thesoybean promoters described herein are as follows:

A1. A recombinant DNA construct comprising a nucleotide sequencecomprising any of the sequences set forth in SEQ ID NO:120 or SEQ IDNO:295, or a functional fragment thereof, operably linked to at leastone heterologous sequence, wherein said nucleotide sequence is apromoter.

A2. The recombinant DNA construct of embodiment A1, wherein thenucleotide sequence has at least 95% identity, based on the Clustal Vmethod of alignment with pairwise alignment default parameters(KTUPLE=2, GAP PENALTY=5, WINDOW=4 and DIAGONALS SAVED=4), when comparedto the sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO:120 or SEQ IDNO: 295.

A3. A vector comprising the recombinant DNA construct of embodiment A1.

A4. A cell comprising the recombinant DNA construct of embodiment A1.

A5. The cell of embodiment A4, wherein the cell is a plant cell.

A6. A transgenic plant having stably incorporated into its genome therecombinant DNA construct of embodiment A1.

A7. The transgenic plant of embodiment A6 wherein said plant is a dicotplant.

A8. The transgenic plant of embodiment A7 wherein the plant is soybean.

A9. A transgenic seed produced by the transgenic plant of embodiment A7,wherein the transgenic seed comprises the recombinant DNA construct.

A10. The recombinant DNA construct of embodiment A1 wherein the at leastone heterologous sequence codes for a gene selected from the groupconsisting of: a reporter gene, a selection marker, a disease resistanceconferring gene, a herbicide resistance conferring gene, an insectresistance conferring gene; a gene involved in carbohydrate metabolism,a gene involved in fatty acid metabolism, a gene involved in amino acidmetabolism, a gene involved in plant development, a gene involved inplant growth regulation, a gene involved in yield improvement, a geneinvolved in drought resistance, a gene involved in cold resistance, agene involved in heat resistance and a gene involved in salt resistancein plants.

A11. The recombinant DNA construct of embodiment A1, wherein the atleast one heterologous sequence encodes a protein selected from thegroup consisting of: a reporter protein, a selection marker, a proteinconferring disease resistance, protein conferring herbicide resistance,protein conferring insect resistance; protein involved in carbohydratemetabolism, protein involved in fatty acid metabolism, protein involvedin amino acid metabolism, protein involved in plant development, proteininvolved in plant growth regulation, protein involved in yieldimprovement, protein involved in drought resistance, protein involved incold resistance, protein involved in heat resistance and proteininvolved in salt resistance in plants.

A12. A method of expressing a coding sequence or a functional RNA in aplant comprising:

a) introducing the recombinant DNA construct of embodiment A1 into theplant, wherein the at least one heterologous sequence comprises a codingsequence or encodes a functional RNA;

b) growing the plant of step a); and

c) selecting a plant displaying expression of the coding sequence or thefunctional RNA of the recombinant DNA construct.

A13. A method of transgenically altering a marketable plant trait,comprising:

a) introducing a recombinant DNA construct of embodiment A1 into theplant;

b) growing a fertile, mature plant resulting from step a); and

c) selecting a plant expressing the at least one heterologous sequencein at least one plant tissue based on the altered marketable trait.

A14. The method of embodiment A13 wherein the marketable trait isselected from the group consisting of: disease resistance, herbicideresistance, insect resistance carbohydrate metabolism, fatty acidmetabolism, amino acid metabolism, plant development, plant growthregulation, yield improvement, drought resistance, cold resistance, heatresistance, and salt resistance.

A15. A method for altering expression of at least one heterologoussequence in a plant comprising:

(a) transforming a plant cell with the recombinant DNA construct ofembodiment A1;

(b) growing fertile mature plants from transformed plant cell of step(a); and

(c) selecting plants containing the transformed plant cell wherein theexpression of the heterologous sequence is increased or decreased.

A16. The method of Embodiment A15 wherein the plant is a soybean plant.

A17. A plant stably transformed with a recombinant DNA constructcomprising a soybean promoter and a heterologous nucleic acid fragmentoperably linked to said promoter, wherein said promoter is a capable ofcontrolling expression of said heterologous nucleic acid fragment in aplant cell, and further wherein said promoter comprises any of thesequences set forth in SEQ ID NO: 120 or SEQ ID NO:295.

New promoters of various types useful in plant cells are constantlybeing discovered; numerous examples may be found in the compilation byOkamuro and Goldberg, (1989) In The Biochemistry of Plants, Vol. 115,Stumpf and Conn, eds (New York, N.Y.: Academic Press), pp. 1-82.

“Translation leader sequence” refers to a polynucleotide sequencelocated between the promoter sequence of a gene and the coding sequence.The translation leader sequence is present in the mRNA upstream of thetranslation start sequence. The translation leader sequence may affectprocessing of the primary transcript to mRNA, mRNA stability ortranslation efficiency. Examples of translation leader sequences havebeen described (e.g., Turner and Foster, (1995) Mol Biotechnol3:225-236).

“3′ non-coding sequences”, “transcription terminator” or “terminationsequences” refer to DNA sequences located downstream of a codingsequence and include polyadenylation recognition sequences and othersequences encoding regulatory signals capable of affecting mRNAprocessing or gene expression. The polyadenylation signal is usuallycharacterized by affecting the addition of polyadenylic acid tracts tothe 3′ end of the mRNA precursor. The use of different 3′ non-codingsequences is exemplified by Ingelbrecht et al., (1989) Plant Cell1:671-680.

“RNA transcript” refers to the product resulting from RNApolymerase-catalyzed transcription of a DNA sequence. When the RNAtranscript is a perfect complimentary copy of the DNA sequence, it isreferred to as the primary transcript or pre-mRNA. A RNA transcript isreferred to as the mature RNA or mRNA when it is a RNA sequence derivedfrom post-transcriptional processing of the primary transcript premRNAt. “Messenger RNA” or “mRNA” refers to the RNA that is withoutintrons and that can be translated into protein by the cell. “cDNA”refers to a DNA that is complementary to, and synthesized from, a mRNAtemplate using the enzyme reverse transcriptase. The cDNA can besingle-stranded or converted into double-stranded form using the Klenowfragment of DNA polymerase I. “Sense” RNA refers to RNA transcript thatincludes the mRNA and can be translated into protein within a cell or invitro. “Antisense RNA” refers to an RNA transcript that is complementaryto all or part of a target primary transcript or mRNA, and that blocksthe expression of a target gene (see, e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 5,107,065).The complementarity of an antisense RNA may be with any part of thespecific gene transcript, i.e., at the 5′ non-coding sequence, 3′non-coding sequence, introns, or the coding sequence. “Functional RNA”refers to antisense RNA, ribozyme RNA, or other RNA that may not betranslated but yet has an effect on cellular processes. The terms“complement” and “reverse complement” are used interchangeably hereinwith respect to mRNA transcripts, and are meant to define the antisenseRNA of the message.

The term “operably linked” refers to the association of nucleic acidsequences on a single nucleic acid fragment so that the function of oneis regulated by the other. For example, a promoter is operably linkedwith a coding sequence when it is capable of regulating the expressionof that coding sequence (i.e., the coding sequence is under thetranscriptional control of the promoter). Coding sequences can beoperably linked to regulatory sequences in a sense or antisenseorientation. In another example, the complementary RNA regions can beoperably linked, either directly or indirectly, 5′ to the target mRNA,or 3′ to the target mRNA, or within the target mRNA, or a firstcomplementary region is 5′ and its complement is 3′ to the target mRNA.

Standard recombinant DNA and molecular cloning techniques used hereinare well known in the art and are described more fully in Sambrook etal., Molecular Cloning: A Laboratory Manual; Cold Spring HarborLaboratory: Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y. (1989). Transformation methods arewell known to those skilled in the art and are described infra.

“PCR” or “polymerase chain reaction” is a technique for the synthesis ofspecific DNA segments and consists of a series of repetitivedenaturation, annealing, and extension cycles. Typically, adouble-stranded DNA is heat denatured, and two primers complementary tothe 3′ boundaries of the target segment are annealed to the DNA at lowtemperature, and then extended at an intermediate temperature. One setof these three consecutive steps is referred to as a “cycle”.

The term “recombinant” refers to an artificial combination of twootherwise separated segments of sequence, e.g., by chemical synthesis,or manipulation of isolated segments of nucleic acids by geneticengineering techniques.

The terms “plasmid”, “vector” and “cassette” refer to an extrachromosomal element often carrying genes that are not part of thecentral metabolism of the cell, and usually in the form ofdouble-stranded DNA. Such elements may be autonomously replicatingsequences, genome integrating sequences, phage, or nucleotide sequences,in linear or circular form, of a single- or double-stranded DNA or RNA,derived from any source, in which a number of nucleotide sequences havebeen joined or recombined into a unique construction which is capable ofintroducing a polynucleotide of interest into a cell. “Transformationcassette” refers to a specific vector containing a gene and havingelements in addition to the gene that facilitates transformation of aparticular host cell. “Expression cassette” refers to a specific vectorcontaining a gene and having elements in addition to the gene that allowfor expression of that gene in a host.

The terms “recombinant DNA molecule”, “recombinant construct”,“expression construct”, “construct”, “construct”, and “recombinant DNAconstruct” are used interchangeably herein. A recombinant constructcomprises an artificial combination of nucleic acid fragments, e.g.,regulatory and coding sequences that are not all found together innature. For example, a construct may comprise regulatory sequences andcoding sequences that are derived from different sources, or regulatorysequences and coding sequences derived from the same source, butarranged in a manner different than that found in nature. Such aconstruct may be used by itself or may be used in conjunction with avector. If a vector is used, then the choice of vector is dependent uponthe method that will be used to transform host cells as is well known tothose skilled in the art. For example, a plasmid vector can be used. Theskilled artisan is well aware of the genetic elements that must bepresent on the vector in order to successfully transform, select andpropagate host cells. The skilled artisan will also recognize thatdifferent independent transformation events may result in differentlevels and patterns of expression (Jones et al., (1985) EMBOJ4:2411-2418; De Almeida et al., (1989) Mol Gen Genetics 218:78-86), andthus that multiple events are typically screened in order to obtainlines displaying the desired expression level and pattern. Suchscreening may be accomplished standard molecular biological,biochemical, and other assays including Southern analysis of DNA,Northern analysis of mRNA expression, PCR, real time quantitative PCR(qPCR), reverse transcription PCR (RT-PCR), immunoblotting analysis ofprotein expression, enzyme or activity assays, and/or phenotypicanalysis.

The term “expression”, as used herein, refers to the production of afunctional end-product (e.g., an mRNA, guide RNA, or a protein) ineither precursor or mature form.

The term “introduced” means providing a nucleic acid (e.g., expressionconstruct) or protein into a cell. Introduced includes reference to theincorporation of a nucleic acid into a eukaryotic or prokaryotic cellwhere the nucleic acid may be incorporated into the genome of the cell,and includes reference to the transient provision of a nucleic acid orprotein to the cell. Introduced includes reference to stable ortransient transformation methods, as well as sexually crossing. Thus,“introduced” in the context of inserting a nucleic acid fragment (e.g.,a recombinant DNA construct/expression construct) into a cell, means“transfection” or “transformation” or “transduction” and includesreference to the incorporation of a nucleic acid fragment into aeukaryotic or prokaryotic cell where the nucleic acid fragment may beincorporated into the genome of the cell (e.g., chromosome, plasmid,plastid, or mitochondrial DNA), converted into an autonomous replicon,or transiently expressed (e.g., transfected mRNA).

“Mature” protein refers to a post-translationally processed polypeptide(i.e., one from which any pre- or propeptides present in the primarytranslation product have been removed). “Precursor” protein refers tothe primary product of translation of mRNA (i.e., with pre- andpropeptides still present). Pre- and propeptides may be but are notlimited to intracellular localization signals.

“Stable transformation” refers to the transfer of a nucleic acidfragment into a genome of a host organism, including both nuclear andorganellar genomes, resulting in genetically stable inheritance. Incontrast, “transient transformation” refers to the transfer of a nucleicacid fragment into the nucleus, or other DNA-containing organelle, of ahost organism resulting in gene expression without integration or stableinheritance. Host organisms containing the transformed nucleic acidfragments are referred to as “transgenic” organisms.

The commercial development of genetically improved germplasm has alsoadvanced to the stage of introducing multiple traits into crop plants,often referred to as a gene stacking approach. In this approach,multiple genes conferring different characteristics of interest can beintroduced into a plant. Gene stacking can be accomplished by many meansincluding but not limited to co-transformation, retransformation, andcrossing lines with different genes of interest.

The term “plant” refers to whole plants, plant organs, plant tissues,seeds, plant cells, seeds and progeny of the same. Plant cells include,without limitation, cells from seeds, suspension cultures, embryos,meristematic regions, callus tissue, leaves, roots, shoots,gametophytes, sporophytes, pollen and microspores. Plant parts includedifferentiated and undifferentiated tissues including, but not limitedto roots, stems, shoots, leaves, pollens, seeds, tumor tissue andvarious forms of cells and culture (e.g., single cells, protoplasts,embryos, and callus tissue). The plant tissue may be in plant or in aplant organ, tissue or cell culture. The term “plant organ” refers toplant tissue or a group of tissues that constitute a morphologically andfunctionally distinct part of a plant. The term “genome” refers to theentire complement of genetic material (genes and non-coding sequences)that is present in each cell of an organism, or virus or organelle;and/or a complete set of chromosomes inherited as a (haploid) unit fromone parent. “Progeny” comprises any subsequent generation of a plant.

A transgenic plant includes, for example, a plant which comprises withinits genome a heterologous polynucleotide introduced by a transformationstep. The heterologous polynucleotide can be stably integrated withinthe genome such that the polynucleotide is passed on to successivegenerations. The heterologous polynucleotide may be integrated into thegenome alone or as part of a recombinant DNA construct. A transgenicplant can also comprise more than one heterologous polynucleotide withinits genome. Each heterologous polynucleotide may confer a differenttrait to the transgenic plant. A heterologous polynucleotide can includea sequence that originates from a foreign species, or, if from the samespecies, can be substantially modified from its native form. Transgeniccan include any cell, cell line, callus, tissue, plant part or plant,the genotype of which has been altered by the presence of heterologousnucleic acid including those transgenics initially so altered as well asthose created by sexual crosses or asexual propagation from the initialtransgenic. The alterations of the genome (chromosomal orextra-chromosomal) by conventional plant breeding methods, by the genomeediting procedure described herein that does not result in an insertionof a foreign polynucleotide, or by naturally occurring events such asrandom cross-fertilization, non-recombinant viral infection,non-recombinant bacterial transformation, non-recombinant transposition,or spontaneous mutation are not intended to be regarded as transgenic.

In certain embodiments of the disclosure, a fertile plant is a plantthat produces viable male and female gametes and is self-fertile. Such aself-fertile plant can produce a progeny plant without the contributionfrom any other plant of a gamete and the genetic material containedtherein. Other embodiments of the disclosure can involve the use of aplant that is not self-fertile because the plant does not produce malegametes, or female gametes, or both, that are viable or otherwisecapable of fertilization. As used herein, a “male sterile plant” is aplant that does not produce male gametes that are viable or otherwisecapable of fertilization. As used herein, a “female sterile plant” is aplant that does not produce female gametes that are viable or otherwisecapable of fertilization. It is recognized that male-sterile andfemale-sterile plants can be female-fertile and male-fertile,respectively. It is further recognized that a male fertile (but femalesterile) plant can produce viable progeny when crossed with a femalefertile plant and that a female fertile (but male sterile) plant canproduce viable progeny when crossed with a male fertile plant.

A “centimorgan” (cM) or “map unit” is the distance between two linkedgenes, markers, target sites, loci, or any pair thereof, wherein 1% ofthe products of meiosis are recombinant. Thus, a centimorgan isequivalent to a distance equal to an 1% average recombination frequencybetween the two linked genes, markers, target sites, loci, or any pairthereof.

Breeding Methods and Methods for Selecting Plants Utilizing a TwoComponent RNA Guide and Cas Endonuclease System

The present disclosure finds use in the breeding of plants comprisingone or more transgenic traits. Most commonly, transgenic traits arerandomly inserted throughout the plant genome as a consequence oftransformation systems based on Agrobacterium, biolistics, or othercommonly used procedures. More recently, gene targeting protocols havebeen developed that enable directed transgene insertion. One importanttechnology, site-specific integration (SSI) enables the targeting of atransgene to the same chromosomal location as a previously insertedtransgene. Custom-designed meganucleases and custom-designed zinc fingermeganucleases allow researchers to design nucleases to target specificchromosomal locations, and these reagents allow the targeting oftransgenes at the chromosomal site cleaved by these nucleases.

The currently used systems for precision genetic engineering ofeukaryotic genomes, e.g. plant genomes, rely upon homing endonucleases,meganucleases, zinc finger nucleases, and transcription activator-likeeffector nucleases (TALENs), which require de novo protein engineeringfor every new target locus. The highly specific, RNA-directed DNAnuclease, guide RNA/Cas9 endonuclease system described herein, is moreeasily customizable and therefore more useful when modification of manydifferent target sequences is the goal. This disclosure takes furtheradvantage of the two component nature of the guide RNA/Cas system, withits constant protein component, the Cas endonuclease, and its variableand easily reprogrammable targeting component, the guide RNA or thecrRNA.

The guide RNA/Cas system described herein is especially useful forgenome engineering, especially plant genome engineering, incircumstances where nuclease off-target cutting can be toxic to thetargeted cells. In one embodiment of the guide RNA/Cas system describedherein, the constant component, in the form of an expression-optimizedCas9 gene, is stably integrated into the target genome, e.g. plantgenome. Expression of the Cas9 gene is under control of a promoter, e.g.plant promoter, which can be a constitutive promoter, tissue-specificpromoter or inducible promoter, e.g. temperature-inducible,stress-inducible, developmental stage inducible, or chemically induciblepromoter. In the absence of the variable component, i.e. the guide RNAor crRNA, the Cas9 protein is not able to cut DNA and therefore itspresence in the plant cell should have little or no consequence. Hence akey advantage of the guide RNA/Cas system described herein is theability to create and maintain a cell line or transgenic organismcapable of efficient expression of the Cas9 protein with little or noconsequence to cell viability. In order to induce cutting at desiredgenomic sites to achieve targeted genetic modifications, guide RNAs orcrRNAs can be introduced by a variety of methods into cells containingthe stably-integrated and expressed cas9 gene. For example, guide RNAsor crRNAs can be chemically or enzymatically synthesized, and introducedinto the Cas9 expressing cells via direct delivery methods such aparticle bombardment or electroporation.

Alternatively, genes capable of efficiently expressing guide RNAs orcrRNAs in the target cells can be synthesized chemically, enzymaticallyor in a biological system, and these genes can be introduced into theCas9 expressing cells via direct delivery methods such a particlebombardment, electroporation or biological delivery methods such asAgrobacterium mediated DNA delivery.

One embodiment of the disclosure is a method for selecting a plantcomprising an altered target site in its plant genome, the methodcomprising: a) obtaining a first plant comprising at least one Casendonuclease capable of introducing a double strand break at a targetsite in the plant genome; b) obtaining a second plant comprising a guideRNA that is capable of forming a complex with the Cas endonuclease of(a), c) crossing the first plant of (a) with the second plant of (b); d)evaluating the progeny of (c) for an alteration in the target site ande) selecting a progeny plant that possesses the desired alteration ofsaid target site.

Another embodiment of the disclosure is a method for selecting a plantcomprising an altered target site in its plant genome, the methodcomprising: a) obtaining a first plant comprising at least one Casendonuclease capable of introducing a double strand break at a targetsite in the plant genome; b) obtaining a second plant comprising a guideRNA and a donor DNA, wherein said guide RNA is capable of forming acomplex with the Cas endonuclease of (a), wherein said donor DNAcomprises a polynucleotide of interest; c) crossing the first plant of(a) with the second plant of (b); d) evaluating the progeny of (c) foran alteration in the target site and e) selecting a progeny plant thatcomprises the polynucleotide of interest inserted at said target site.

Another embodiment of the disclosure is a method for selecting a plantcomprising an altered target site in its plant genome, the methodcomprising selecting at least one progeny plant that comprises analteration at a target site in its plant genome, wherein said progenyplant was obtained by crossing a first plant expressing at least one Casendonuclease to a second plant comprising a guide RNA and a donor DNA,wherein said Cas endonuclease is capable of introducing a double strandbreak at said target site, wherein said donor DNA comprises apolynucleotide of interest.

As disclosed herein, a guide RNA/Cas system mediating gene targeting canbe used in methods for directing transgene insertion and/or forproducing complex transgenic trait loci comprising multiple transgenesin a fashion similar as disclosed in WO2013/0198888 (published Aug. 1,2013) where instead of using a double strand break inducing agent tointroduce a gene of interest, a guide RNA/Cas system or a guidepolynucleotide/Cas system as disclosed herein is used. In oneembodiment, a complex transgenic trait locus is a genomic locus that hasmultiple transgenes genetically linked to each other. By insertingindependent transgenes within 0.1, 0.2, 0.3, 04, 0.5, 1, 2, or even 5centimorgans (cM) from each other, the transgenes can be bred as asingle genetic locus (see, for example, U.S. patent application Ser. No.13/427,138) or PCT application PCT/US2012/030061. After selecting aplant comprising a transgene, plants containing (at least) onetransgenes can be crossed to form an F1 that contains both transgenes.In progeny from these F1 (F2 or BC1) 1/500 progeny would have the twodifferent transgenes recombined onto the same chromosome. The complexlocus can then be bred as single genetic locus with both transgenetraits. This process can be repeated to stack as many traits as desired.

Chromosomal intervals that correlate with a phenotype or trait ofinterest can be identified. A variety of methods well known in the artare available for identifying chromosomal intervals. The boundaries ofsuch chromosomal intervals are drawn to encompass markers that will belinked to the gene controlling the trait of interest. In other words,the chromosomal interval is drawn such that any marker that lies withinthat interval (including the terminal markers that define the boundariesof the interval) can be used as a marker for northern leaf blightresistance. In one embodiment, the chromosomal interval comprises atleast one QTL, and furthermore, may indeed comprise more than one QTL.Close proximity of multiple QTLs in the same interval may obfuscate thecorrelation of a particular marker with a particular QTL, as one markermay demonstrate linkage to more than one QTL. Conversely, e.g., if twomarkers in close proximity show co-segregation with the desiredphenotypic trait, it is sometimes unclear if each of those markersidentify the same QTL or two different QTL. The term “quantitative traitlocus” or “QTL” refers to a region of DNA that is associated with thedifferential expression of a quantitative phenotypic trait in at leastone genetic background, e.g., in at least one breeding population. Theregion of the QTL encompasses or is closely linked to the gene or genesthat affect the trait in question. An “allele of a QTL” can comprisemultiple genes or other genetic factors within a contiguous genomicregion or linkage group, such as a haplotype. An allele of a QTL candenote a haplotype within a specified window wherein said window is acontiguous genomic region that can be defined, and tracked, with a setof one or more polymorphic markers. A haplotype can be defined by theunique fingerprint of alleles at each marker within the specifiedwindow.

A variety of methods are available to identify those cells having analtered genome at or near a target site without using a screenablemarker phenotype. Such methods can be viewed as directly analyzing atarget sequence to detect any change in the target sequence, includingbut not limited to PCR methods, sequencing methods, nuclease digestion,Southern blots, and any combination thereof.

Proteins may be altered in various ways including amino acidsubstitutions, deletions, truncations, and insertions. Methods for suchmanipulations are generally known. For example, amino acid sequencevariants of the protein(s) can be prepared by mutations in the DNA.Methods for mutagenesis and nucleotide sequence alterations include, forexample, Kunkel, (1985) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 82:488-92; Kunkel etal., (1987) Meth Enzymol 154:367-82; U.S. Pat. No. 4,873,192; Walker andGaastra, eds. (1983) Techniques in Molecular Biology (MacMillanPublishing Company, New York) and the references cited therein. Guidanceregarding amino acid substitutions not likely to affect biologicalactivity of the protein is found, for example, in the model of Dayhoffet al., (1978) Atlas of Protein Sequence and Structure (Natl Biomed ResFound, Washington, D.C.). Conservative substitutions, such as exchangingone amino acid with another having similar properties, may bepreferable. Conservative deletions, insertions, and amino acidsubstitutions are not expected to produce radical changes in thecharacteristics of the protein, and the effect of any substitution,deletion, insertion, or combination thereof can be evaluated by routinescreening assays. Assays for double-strand-break-inducing activity areknown and generally measure the overall activity and specificity of theagent on DNA substrates containing target sites.

A variety of methods are known for the introduction of nucleotidesequences and polypeptides into an organism, including, for example,transformation, sexual crossing, and the introduction of thepolypeptide, DNA, or mRNA into the cell.

Methods for contacting, providing, and/or introducing a composition intovarious organisms are known and include but are not limited to, stabletransformation methods, transient transformation methods, virus-mediatedmethods, and sexual breeding. Stable transformation indicates that theintroduced polynucleotide integrates into the genome of the organism andis capable of being inherited by progeny thereof. Transienttransformation indicates that the introduced composition is onlytemporarily expressed or present in the organism.

Protocols for introducing polynucleotides and polypeptides into plantsmay vary depending on the type of plant or plant cell targeted fortransformation, such as monocot or dicot. Suitable methods ofintroducing polynucleotides and polypeptides into plant cells andsubsequent insertion into the plant genome include microinjection(Crossway et aL, (1986) Biotechniques 4:320-34 and U.S. Pat. No.6,300,543), meristem transformation (U.S. Pat. No. 5,736,369),electroporation (Riggs et al., (1986) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA83:5602-6, Agrobacterium-mediated transformation (U.S. Pat. Nos.5,563,055 and 5,981,840), direct gene transfer (Paszkowski et al.,(1984) EMBO J3:2717-22), and ballistic particle acceleration (U.S. Pat.Nos. 4,945,050; 5,879,918; 5,886,244; 5,932,782; Tomes et al., (1995)“Direct DNA Transfer into Intact Plant Cells via MicroprojectileBombardment” in Plant Cell, Tissue, and Organ Culture: FundamentalMethods, ed. Gamborg & Phillips (Springer-Verlag, Berlin); McCabe etal., (1988) Biotechnology 6:923-6; Weissinger et al., (1988) Ann RevGenet 22:421-77; Sanford et al., (1987) Particulate Science andTechnology 5:27-37 (onion); Christou et al., (1988) Plant Physiol87:671-4 (soybean); Finer and McMullen, (1991) In Vitro Cell Dev Biol27P:175-82 (soybean); Singh et al., (1998) Theor Appl Genet 96:319-24(soybean); Datta et al., (1990) Biotechnology 8:736-40 (rice); Klein etal., (1988) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 85:4305-9 (maize); Klein et al.,(1988) Biotechnology 6:559-63 (maize); U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,240,855;5,322,783 and 5,324,646; Klein et al., (1988) Plant Physiol 91:440-4(maize); Fromm et al., (1990) Biotechnology 8:833-9 (maize);Hooykaas-Van Slogteren et al., (1984) Nature 311:763-4; U.S. Pat. No.5,736,369 (cereals); Bytebier et al., (1987) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA84:5345-9 (Liliaceae); De Wet et al., (1985) in The ExperimentalManipulation of Ovule Tissues, ed. Chapman et al., (Longman, New York),pp. 197-209 (pollen); Kaeppler et al., (1990) Plant Cell Rep 9:415-8)and Kaeppler et al., (1992) Theor Appl Genet 84:560-6 (whisker-mediatedtransformation); D′Halluin et al., (1992) Plant Cell 4:1495-505(electroporation); Li et al., (1993) Plant Cell Rep 12:250-5; Christouand Ford (1995) Annals Botany 75:407-13 (rice) and Osjoda et al., (1996)Nat Biotechnol 14:745-50 (maize via Agrobacterium tumefaciens).

Alternatively, polynucleotides may be introduced into plants bycontacting plants with a virus or viral nucleic acids. Generally, suchmethods involve incorporating a polynucleotide within a viral DNA or RNAmolecule. In some examples a polypeptide of interest may be initiallysynthesized as part of a viral polyprotein, which is later processed byproteolysis in vivo or in vitro to produce the desired recombinantprotein. Methods for introducing polynucleotides into plants andexpressing a protein encoded therein, involving viral DNA or RNAmolecules, are known, see, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,889,191,5,889,190, 5,866,785, 5,589,367 and 5,316,931. Transient transformationmethods include, but are not limited to, the introduction ofpolypeptides, such as a double-strand break inducing agent, directlyinto the organism, the introduction of polynucleotides such as DNAand/or RNA polynucleotides, and the introduction of the RNA transcript,such as an mRNA encoding a double-strand break inducing agent, into theorganism. Such methods include, for example, microinjection or particlebombardment. See, for example Crossway et al., (1986) Mol Gen Genet202:179-85; Nomura et al., (1986) Plant Sci 44:53-8; Hepler et al.,(1994) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 91:2176-80; and, Hush et al., (1994) JCell Sci 107:775-84.

The term “dicot” refers to the subclass of angiosperm plants also knowsas “dicotyledoneae” and includes reference to whole plants, plant organs(e.g., leaves, stems, roots, etc.), seeds, plant cells, and progeny ofthe same. Plant cell, as used herein includes, without limitation,seeds, suspension cultures, embryos, meristematic regions, callustissue, leaves, roots, shoots, gametophytes, sporophytes, pollen, andmicrospores.

The term “crossed” or “cross” or “crossing” in the context of thisdisclosure means the fusion of gametes via pollination to produceprogeny (i.e., cells, seeds, or plants). The term encompasses bothsexual crosses (the pollination of one plant by another) and selfing(self-pollination, i.e., when the pollen and ovule (or microspores andmegaspores) are from the same plant or genetically identical plants).

The term “introgression” refers to the transmission of a desired alleleof a genetic locus from one genetic background to another. For example,introgression of a desired allele at a specified locus can betransmitted to at least one progeny plant via a sexual cross between twoparent plants, where at least one of the parent plants has the desiredallele within its genome. Alternatively, for example, transmission of anallele can occur by recombination between two donor genomes, e.g., in afused protoplast, where at least one of the donor protoplasts has thedesired allele in its genome. The desired allele can be, e.g., atransgene, a modified (mutated or edited) native allele, or a selectedallele of a marker or QTL.

Standard DNA isolation, purification, molecular cloning, vectorconstruction, and verification/characterization methods are wellestablished, see, for example Sambrook et aL, (1989) Molecular Cloning:A Laboratory Manual, (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press, NY). Vectorsand constructs include circular plasmids, and linear polynucleotides,comprising a polynucleotide of interest and optionally other componentsincluding linkers, adapters, regulatory regions, introns, restrictionsites, enhancers, insulators, selectable markers, nucleotide sequencesof interest, promoters, and/or other sites that aid in vectorconstruction or analysis. In some examples a recognition site and/ortarget site can be contained within an intron, coding sequence, 5′ UTRs,3′ UTRs, and/or regulatory regions.

The present disclosure further provides expression constructs forexpressing in a plant, plant cell, or plant part a guide RNA/cas systemthat is capable of binding to and creating a double strand break in atarget site. In one embodiment, the expression constructs of thedisclosure comprise a promoter operably linked to a nucleotide sequenceencoding a cas gene and a promoter operably linked to a guide RNA of thepresent disclosure. The promoter is capable of driving expression of anoperably linked nucleotide sequence in a plant cell.

A promoter is a region of DNA involved in recognition and binding of RNApolymerase and other proteins to initiate transcription. A plantpromoter is a promoter capable of initiating transcription in a plantcell, for a review of plant promoters, see, Potenza et al., (2004) InVitro Cell Dev Biol 40:1-22. Constitutive promoters include, forexample, the core promoter of the Rsyn7 promoter and other constitutivepromoters disclosed in WO99/43838 and U.S. Pat. No. 6,072,050; the coreCaMV 35S promoter (Odell et al., (1985) Nature 313:810-2); rice actin(McElroy et aL, (1990) Plant Cell 2:163-71); ubiquitin (Christensen etaL, (1989) Plant Mol Biol 12:619-32; Christensen et al., (1992) PlantMol Biol 18:675-89); pEMU (Last et al., (1991) Theor Appl Genet81:581-8); MAS (Velten et al., (1984) EMBO J3:2723-30); ALS promoter(U.S. Pat. No. 5,659,026), and the like. Other constitutive promotersare described in, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,608,149; 5,608,144;5,604,121; 5,569,597; 5,466,785; 5,399,680; 5,268,463; 5,608,142 and6,177,611. In some examples an inducible promoter may be used.Pathogen-inducible promoters induced following infection by a pathogeninclude, but are not limited to those regulating expression of PRproteins, SAR proteins, beta-1,3-glucanase, chitinase, etc.

Chemical-regulated promoters can be used to modulate the expression of agene in a plant through the application of an exogenous chemicalregulator. The promoter may be a chemical-inducible promoter, whereapplication of the chemical induces gene expression, or achemical-repressible promoter, where application of the chemicalrepresses gene expression. Chemical-inducible promoters include, but arenot limited to, the maize In2-2 promoter, activated by benzenesulfonamide herbicide safeners (De Veylder et al., (1997) Plant CellPhysiol 38:568-77), the maize GST promoter (GST-II-27, WO93/01294),activated by hydrophobic electrophilic compounds used as pre-emergentherbicides, and the tobacco PR-1a promoter (Ono et al., (2004) BiosciBiotechnol Biochem 68:803-7) activated by salicylic acid. Otherchemical-regulated promoters include steroid-responsive promoters (see,for example, the glucocorticoid-inducible promoter (Schena et al.,(1991) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 88:10421-5; McNellis et al., (1998)Plant J 14:247-257); tetracycline-inducible and tetracycline-repressiblepromoters (Gatz et al., (1991) Mol Gen Genet 227:229-37; U.S. Pat. Nos.5,814,618 and 5,789,156).

Tissue-preferred promoters can be utilized to target enhanced expressionwithin a particular plant tissue. Tissue-preferred promoters include,for example, Kawamata et al., (1997) Plant Cell Physiol 38:792-803;Hansen et al., (1997) Mol Gen Genet 254:337-43; Russell et al., (1997)Transgenic Res 6:157-68; Rinehart et al., (1996) Plant Physiol112:1331-41; Van Camp et al., (1996) Plant Physiol 112:525-35;Canevascini et al., (1996) Plant Physiol 112:513-524; Lam, (1994)Results Probl Cell Differ 20:181-96; and Guevara-Garcia et al., (1993)Plant J 4:495-505. Leaf-preferred promoters include, for example,Yamamoto et al., (1997) Plant J 12:255-65; Kwon et al., (1994) PlantPhysiol 105:357-67; Yamamoto et al., (1994) Plant Cell Physiol 35:773-8;Gotor et al., (1993) Plant J 3:509-18; Orozco et al., (1993) Plant MolBiol 23:1129-38; Matsuoka et al., (1993) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA90:9586-90; Simpson et al., (1958) EMBO J4:2723-9; Timko et al., (1988)Nature 318:57-8. Root-preferred promoters include, for example, Hire etal., (1992) Plant Mol Biol 20:207-18 (soybean root-specific glutaminesynthase gene); Miao et al., (1991) Plant Cell 3:11-22 (cytosolicglutamine synthase (GS)); Keller and Baumgartner, (1991) Plant Cell3:1051-61 (root-specific control element in the GRP 1.8 gene of Frenchbean); Sanger et al., (1990) Plant Mol Biol 14:433-43 (root-specificpromoter of A. tumefaciens mannopine synthase (MAS)); Bogusz et al.,(1990) Plant Cell 2:633-41 (root-specific promoters isolated fromParasponia andersonii and Trema tomentosa); Leach and Aoyagi, (1991)Plant Sci 79:69-76 (A. rhizogenes roIC and roID root-inducing genes);Teeri et al., (1989) EMBO J 8:343-50 (Agrobacterium wound-induced TR1′and TR2′ genes); VfENOD-GRP3 gene promoter (Kuster et al., (1995) PlantMol Biol)/29:759-72); and roIB promoter (Capana et al., (1994) Plant MolBiol 25:681-91; phaseolin gene (Murai et al., (1983) Science 23:476-82;Sengopta-Gopalen et al., (1988) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 82:3320-4).See also, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,837,876; 5,750,386; 5,633,363; 5,459,252;5,401,836; 5,110,732 and 5,023,179.

Seed-preferred promoters include both seed-specific promoters activeduring seed development, as well as seed-germinating promoters activeduring seed germination. See, Thompson et al., (1989) BioEssays 10:108.Seed-preferred promoters include, but are not limited to, Cim1(cytokinin-induced message); cZ19B1 (maize 19 kDa zein); and milps(myo-inositol-1-phosphate synthase); (WO00/11177; and U.S. Pat. No.6,225,529). For dicots, seed-preferred promoters include, but are notlimited to, bean β-phaseolin, napin, β-conglycinin, soybean lectin,cruciferin, and the like. For monocots, seed-preferred promotersinclude, but are not limited to, maize 15 kDa zein, 22 kDa zein, 27 kDagamma zein, waxy, shrunken 1, shrunken 2, globulin 1, oleosin, and nuc1.See also, WO00/12733, where seed-preferred promoters from END1 and END2genes are disclosed.

A phenotypic marker is a screenable or selectable marker that includesvisual markers and selectable markers whether it is a positive ornegative selectable marker. Any phenotypic marker can be used.Specifically, a selectable or screenable marker comprises a DNA segmentthat allows one to identify, or select for or against a molecule or acell that contains it, often under particular conditions. These markerscan encode an activity, such as, but not limited to, production of RNA,peptide, or protein, or can provide a binding site for RNA, peptides,proteins, inorganic and organic compounds or compositions and the like.

Examples of selectable markers include, but are not limited to, DNAsegments that comprise restriction enzyme sites; DNA segments thatencode products which provide resistance against otherwise toxiccompounds including antibiotics, such as, spectinomycin, ampicillin,kanamycin, tetracycline, Basta, neomycin phosphotransferase II (NEO) andhygromycin phosphotransferase (HPT)); DNA segments that encode productswhich are otherwise lacking in the recipient cell (e.g., tRNA genes,auxotrophic markers); DNA segments that encode products which can bereadily identified (e.g., phenotypic markers such as β-galactosidase,GUS; fluorescent proteins such as green fluorescent protein (GFP), cyan(CFP), yellow (YFP), red (RFP), and cell surface proteins); thegeneration of new primer sites for PCR (e.g., the juxtaposition of twoDNA sequence not previously juxtaposed), the inclusion of DNA sequencesnot acted upon or acted upon by a restriction endonuclease or other DNAmodifying enzyme, chemical, etc.; and, the inclusion of a DNA sequencesrequired for a specific modification (e.g., methylation) that allows itsidentification.

Additional selectable markers include genes that confer resistance toherbicidal compounds, such as glufosinate ammonium, bromoxynil,imidazolinones, and 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetate (2,4-D). See for example,Yarranton, (1992) Curr Opin Biotech 3:506-11; Christopherson et al.,(1992) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 89:6314-8; Yao et al., (1992) Cell71:63-72; Reznikoff, (1992) Mol Microbiol 6:2419-22; Hu et al., (1987)Cell 48:555-66; Brown et al., (1987) Cell 49:603-12; Figge et al.,(1988) Cell 52:713-22; Deuschle et al., (1989) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci.USA 86:5400-4; Fuerst et al., (1989) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA86:2549-53; Deuschle et al., (1990) Science 248:480-3; Gossen, (1993)Ph.D. Thesis, University of Heidelberg; Reines et al., (1993) Proc.Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 90:1917-21; Labow et al., (1990) Mol Cell Biol10:3343-56; Zambretti et al., (1992) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA89:3952-6; Baim et al., (1991) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 88:5072-6;Wyborski et al., (1991) Nucleic Acids Res 19:4647-53; Hillen andWissman, (1989) Topics Mol Struc Biol 10:143-62; Degenkolb et al.,(1991) Antimicrob Agents Chemother 35:1591-5; Kleinschnidt et al.,(1988) Biochemistry 27:1094-104; Bonin, (1993) Ph.D. Thesis, Universityof Heidelberg; Gossen et al., (1992) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA89:5547-51; Oliva et aL, (1992) Antimicrob Agents Chemother 36:913-9;Hlavka et aL, (1985) Handbook of Experimental Pharmacology, Vol. 78(Springer-Verlag, Berlin); Gill et al., (1988) Nature 334:721-4.

The cells having the introduced sequence may be grown or regeneratedinto plants using conventional conditions, see for example, McCormick etaL, (1986) Plant Cell Rep 5:81-4. These plants may then be grown, andeither pollinated with the same transformed strain or with a differenttransformed or untransformed strain, and the resulting progeny havingthe desired characteristic and/or comprising the introducedpolynucleotide or polypeptide identified. Two or more generations may begrown to ensure that the polynucleotide is stably maintained andinherited, and seeds harvested.

Any plant can be used, including monocot and dicot plants. Examples ofmonocot plants that can be used include, but are not limited to, corn(Zea mays), rice (Oryza sativa), rye (Secale cereale), sorghum (Sorghumbicolor, Sorghum vulgare), millet (e.g., pearl millet (Pennisetumglaucum), proso millet (Panicum miliaceum), foxtail millet (Setariaitalica), finger millet (Eleusine coracana)), wheat (Triticum aestivum),sugarcane (Saccharum spp.), oats (Avena), barley (Hordeum), switchgrass(Panicum virgatum), pineapple (Ananas comosus), banana (Musa spp.),palm, ornamentals, turfgrasses, and other grasses. Examples of dicotplants that can be used include, but are not limited to, soybean(Glycine max), canola (Brassica napus and B. campestris), alfalfa(Medicago sativa), tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum), Arabidopsis (Arabidopsisthaliana), sunflower (Helianthus annuus), cotton (Gossypium arboreum),and peanut (Arachis hypogaea), tomato (Solanum lycopersicum), potato(Solanum tuberosum) etc.

The transgenes, recombinant DNA molecules, DNA sequences of interest,and polynucleotides of interest can comprise one or more genes ofinterest. Such genes of interest can encode, for example, a protein thatprovides agronomic advantage to the plant.

Marker Assisted Selection and Breeding of Plants

A primary motivation for development of molecular markers in cropspecies is the potential for increased efficiency in plant breedingthrough marker assisted selection (MAS). Genetic marker alleles, oralternatively, quantitative trait loci (QTL alleles, are used toidentify plants that contain a desired genotype at one or more loci, andthat are expected to transfer the desired genotype, along with a desiredphenotype to their progeny. Genetic marker alleles (or QTL alleles) canbe used to identify plants that contain a desired genotype at one locus,or at several unlinked or linked loci (e.g., a haplotype), and thatwould be expected to transfer the desired genotype, along with a desiredphenotype to their progeny. It will be appreciated that for the purposesof MAS, the term marker can encompass both marker and QTL loci.

After a desired phenotype and a polymorphic chromosomal locus, e.g., amarker locus or QTL, are determined to segregate together, it ispossible to use those polymorphic loci to select for allelescorresponding to the desired phenotype—a process called marker-assistedselection (MAS). In brief, a nucleic acid corresponding to the markernucleic acid is detected in a biological sample from a plant to beselected. This detection can take the form of hybridization of a probenucleic acid to a marker, e.g., using allele-specific hybridization,southern blot analysis, northern blot analysis, in situ hybridization,hybridization of primers followed by PCR amplification of a region ofthe marker or the like. A variety of procedures for detecting markersare well known in the art. After the presence (or absence) of aparticular marker in the biological sample is verified, the plant isselected, i.e., used to make progeny plants by selective breeding.

Plant breeders need to combine traits of interest with genes for highyield and other desirable traits to develop improved plant varieties.Screening for large numbers of samples can be expensive, time consuming,and unreliable. Use of markers, and/or genetically-linked nucleic acidsis an effective method for selecting plant having the desired traits inbreeding programs. For example, one advantage of marker-assistedselection over field evaluations is that MAS can be done at any time ofyear regardless of the growing season. Moreover, environmental effectsare irrelevant to marker-assisted selection.

When a population is segregating for multiple loci affecting one ormultiple traits, the efficiency of MAS compared to phenotypic screeningbecomes even greater because all the loci can be processed in the labtogether from a single sample of DNA.

The DNA repair mechanisms of cells are the basis to introduce extraneousDNA or induce mutations on endogenous genes. DNA homologousrecombination is a specialized way of DNA repair that the cells repairDNA damages using a homologous sequence. In plants, DNA homologousrecombination happens at frequencies too low to be routinely used ingene targeting or gene editing until it has been found that the processcan be stimulated by DNA double-strand breaks (Bibikova et al., (2001)Mol. Cell Biol. 21:289-297; Puchta and Baltimore, (2003) Science300:763; Wright et al., (2005) Plant J. 44:693-705).

The meaning of abbreviations is as follows: “sec” means second(s), “min”means minute(s), “h” means hour(s), “d” means day(s), “A” meansmicroliter(s), “mL” means milliliter(s), “L” means liter(s), “μM” meansmicromolar, “mM” means millimolar, “M” means molar, “mmol” meansmillimole(s), “μmole” mean micromole(s), “g” means gram(s), “μg” meansmicrogram(s), “ng” means nanogram(s), “U” means unit(s), “bp” means basepair(s) and “kb” means kilobase(s).

Also, as described herein, for each example or embodiment that cites aguide RNA, a similar guide polynucleotide can be designed wherein theguide polynucleotide does not solely comprise ribonucleic acids butwherein the guide polynucleotide comprises a combination of RNA-DNAmolecules or solely comprises DNA molecules.

Non-limiting examples of compositions and methods disclosed herein areas follows:

-   1. A method for selecting a plant comprising an altered target site    in its plant genome, the method comprising:    -   a) obtaining a first plant comprising at least one Cas        endonuclease capable of introducing a double strand break at a        target site in the plant genome;    -   b) obtaining a second plant comprising a guide RNA that is        capable of forming a complex with the Cas endonuclease of (a);    -   c) crossing the first plant of (a) with the second plant of (b);    -   d) evaluating the progeny of (c) for an alteration in the target        site; and,    -   e) selecting a progeny plant that possesses the desired        alteration of said target site.-   2. A method for selecting a plant comprising an altered target site    in its plant genome, the method comprising selecting at least one    progeny plant that comprises an alteration at a target site in its    plant genome, wherein said progeny plant was obtained by crossing a    first plant comprising at least one a Cas endonuclease with a second    plant comprising a guide RNA, wherein said Cas endonuclease is    capable of introducing a double strand break at said target site.-   3. A method for selecting a plant comprising an altered target site    in its plant genome, the method comprising:    -   a) obtaining a first plant comprising at least one Cas        endonuclease capable of introducing a double strand break at a        target site in the plant genome;    -   b) obtaining a second plant comprising a guide RNA and a donor        DNA, wherein said guide RNA is capable of forming a complex with        the Cas endonuclease of (a), wherein said donor DNA comprises a        polynucleotide of interest;    -   c) crossing the first plant of (a) with the second plant of (b);    -   d) evaluating the progeny of (c) for an alteration in the target        site; and,    -   e) selecting a progeny plant that comprises the polynucleotide        of interest inserted at said target site.-   4. A method for selecting a plant comprising an altered target site    in its plant genome, the method comprising selecting at least one    progeny plant that comprises an alteration at a target site in its    plant genome, wherein said progeny plant was obtained by crossing a    first plant expressing at least one Cas endonuclease to a second    plant comprising a guide RNA and a donor DNA, wherein said Cas    endonuclease is capable of introducing a double strand break at said    target site, wherein said donor DNA comprises a polynucleotide of    interest.-   5. A method for modifying a target site in the genome of a plant    cell, the method comprising introducing a guide RNA into a plant    cell having a Cas endonuclease, wherein said guide RNA and Cas    endonuclease are capable of forming a complex that enables the Cas    endonuclease to introduce a double strand break at said target site.-   6. A method for modifying a target site in the genome of a plant    cell, the method comprising introducing a guide RNA and a Cas    endonuclease into said plant cell, wherein said guide RNA and Cas    endonuclease are capable of forming a complex that enables the Cas    endonuclease to introduce a double strand break at said target site.-   7. A method for modifying a target site in the genome of a plant    cell, the method comprising introducing a guide RNA and a donor DNA    into a plant cell having a Cas endonuclease, wherein said guide RNA    and Cas endonuclease are capable of forming a complex that enables    the Cas endonuclease to introduce a double strand break at said    target site, wherein said donor DNA comprises a polynucleotide of    interest.-   8. A method for modifying a target site in the genome of a plant    cell, the method comprising:    -   a) introducing into a plant cell a guide RNA and a Cas        endonuclease, wherein said guide RNA and Cas endonuclease are        capable of forming a complex that enables the Cas endonuclease        to introduce a double strand break at said target site; and,    -   b) identifying at least one plant cell that has a modification        at said target, wherein the modification includes at least one        deletion or substitution of one or more nucleotides in said        target site.-   9. A method for modifying a target DNA sequence in the genome of a    plant cell, the method comprising:    -   a) introducing into a plant cell a first recombinant DNA        construct capable of expressing a guide RNA and a second        recombinant DNA construct capable of expressing a Cas        endonuclease, wherein said guide RNA and Cas endonuclease are        capable of forming a complex that enables the Cas endonuclease        to introduce a double strand break at said target site; and,    -   b) identifying at least one plant cell that has a modification        at said target, wherein the modification includes at least one        deletion or substitution of one or more nucleotides in said        target site.-   10. A method for introducing a polynucleotide of Interest into a    target site in the genome of a plant cell, the method comprising:    -   a) introducing into a plant cell a first recombinant DNA        construct capable of expressing a guide RNA and a second        recombinant DNA construct capable of expressing a Cas        endonuclease, wherein said guide RNA and Cas endonuclease are        capable of forming a complex that enables the Cas endonuclease        to introduce a double strand break at said target site;    -   b) contacting the plant cell of (a) with a donor DNA comprising        a polynucleotide of Interest; and,    -   c) identifying at least one plant cell from (b) comprising in        its genome the polynucleotide of Interest integrated at said        target site.-   10-B A method for introducing a polynucleotide of Interest into a    target site in the genome of a plant cell, the method comprising:    -   a) introducing into a plant cell a guide RNA and a Cas        endonuclease, wherein said guide RNA and Cas endonuclease are        capable of forming a complex that enables the Cas endonuclease        to introduce a double strand break at said target site;    -   b) contacting the plant cell of (a) with a donor DNA comprising        a polynucleotide of Interest; and,    -   c) identifying at least one plant cell from (b) comprising in        its genome the polynucleotide of Interest integrated at said        target site.-   11. The method of any one of embodiments 5-8, wherein the guide RNA    is introduced directly by particle bombardment.-   12. The method of any one of embodiments 5-9, wherein the guide RNA    is introduced via particle bombardment or Agrobacterium    transformation of a recombinant DNA construct comprising the    corresponding guide DNA operably linked to a plant U6 polymerase Ill    promoter.-   13. The method of any one of embodiments 1-10, wherein the Cas    endonuclease gene is a plant optimized Cas9 endonuclease.-   14. The method of any one of embodiments 1-10, wherein the Cas    endonuclease gene is operably linked to a SV40 nuclear targeting    signal upstream of the Cas codon region and a VirD2 nuclear    localization signal downstream of the Cas codon region.-   15. The method of any one of embodiments 1-14, wherein the plant is    a monocot or a dicot.-   16. The method of embodiment 15, wherein the monocot is selected    from the group consisting of maize, rice, sorghum, rye, barley,    wheat, millet, oats, sugarcane, turfgrass, or switchgrass.-   17. The method of embodiment 16, wherein the dicot is selected from    the group consisting of soybean, canola, alfalfa, sunflower, cotton,    tobacco, peanut, potato, tobacco, Arabidopsis, or safflower.-   18. The method of any one of embodiments 1-17 wherein the target    site is located in the gene sequence of an acetolactate synthase    (ALS) gene, an Enolpyruvylshikimate Phosphate Synthase Gene (ESPSP)    gene, a male fertility (MS45, MS26 or MSCA1).-   19. A plant or seed produced by any one of embodiments 1-17.-   20. A plant comprising a recombinant DNA construct, said recombinant    DNA construct comprising a promoter operably linked to a nucleotide    sequence encoding a plant optimized Cas9 endonuclease, wherein said    plant optimized Cas9 endonuclease is capable of binding to and    creating a double strand break in a genomic target sequence said    plant genome.-   21. A plant comprising a recombinant DNA construct and a guide RNA,    wherein said recombinant DNA construct comprises a promoter operably    linked to a nucleotide sequence encoding a plant optimized Cas9    endonuclease, wherein said plant optimized Cas9 endonuclease and    guide RNA are capable of forming a complex and creating a double    strand break in a genomic target sequence said plant genome.-   22. A recombinant DNA construct comprising a promoter operably    linked to a nucleotide sequence encoding a plant optimized Cas9    endonuclease, wherein said plant optimized Cas9 endonuclease is    capable of binding to and creating a double strand break in a    genomic target sequence said plant genome.-   23. A recombinant DNA construct comprising a promoter operably    linked to a nucleotide sequence expressing a guide RNA, wherein said    guide RNA is capable of forming a complex with a plant optimized    Cas9 endonuclease, and wherein said complex is capable of binding to    and creating a double strand break in a genomic target sequence said    plant genome.-   24. A method for selecting a male sterile plant, the method    comprising selecting at least one progeny plant that comprises an    alteration at a genomic target site located in a male fertility gene    locus, wherein said progeny plant is obtained by crossing a first    plant expressing a Cas9 endonuclease to a second plant comprising a    guide RNA, wherein said Cas endonuclease is capable of introducing a    double strand break at said genomic target site.-   25. A method for producing a male sterile plant, the method    comprising:    -   a) obtaining a first plant comprising at least one Cas        endonuclease capable of introducing a double strand break at a        genomic target site located in a male fertility gene locus in        the plant genome;    -   b) obtaining a second plant comprising a guide RNA that is        capable of forming a complex with the Cas endonuclease of (a);    -   c) crossing the first plant of (a) with the second plant of (b);    -   d) evaluating the progeny of (c) for an alteration in the target        site; and,    -   e) selecting a progeny plant that is male sterile.-   26. The method of any of embodiments 23-24 wherein the male    fertility gene is selected from the list comprising MS26, MS45, M.-   27. The method of any one of embodiments 24-26, wherein the plant is    a monocot or a dicot.-   28. The method of embodiment 27, wherein the monocot is selected    from the group consisting of maize, rice, sorghum, rye, barley,    wheat, millet, oats, sugarcane, turfgrass, or switchgrass.-   29. A method for editing a nucleotide sequence in the genome of a    cell, the method comprising introducing a guide RNA, a    polynucleotide modification template and at least one Cas    endonuclease into a cell, wherein the Cas endonuclease introduces a    double-strand break at a target site in the genome of said cell,    wherein said polynucleotide modification template comprises at least    one nucleotide modification of said nucleotide sequence.-   30. The method of embodiment 29, wherein the cell is a plant cell.-   31. The method of embodiment 29 wherein the nucleotide sequence is a    promoter, a regulatory sequence or a gene of interest of interest.-   32. The method of embodiment 31 wherein the gene of interest is an    EPSPS gene.-   33. The method of embodiment 30 wherein the plant cell is a monocot    or dicot plant cell.-   34. A method for producing an epsps mutant plant, the method    comprising:    -   a) providing a guide RNA, a polynucleotide modification template        and at least one Cas endonuclease to a plant cell, wherein the        Cas endonuclease introduces a double strand break at a target        site within an epsps genomic sequence in the plant genome,        wherein said_polynucleotide modification template comprises at        least one nucleotide modification of said epsps genomic        sequence.    -   b) obtaining a plant from the plant cell of (a);    -   c) evaluating the plant of (b) for the presence of said at least        one nucleotide modification; and,    -   c) selecting a progeny plant that shows tolerance to glyphosate.-   35. A method for producing an epsps mutant plant, the method    comprising:    -   a) providing a guide RNA, a polynucleotide modification template        and at least one Cas endonuclease into a plant cell, wherein the        Cas endonuclease introduces a double strand break at a target        site within an epsps genomic sequence in the plant genome,        wherein said polynucleotide modification template comprises at        least one nucleotide modification of said epsps genomic        sequence.    -   b) obtaining a plant from the plant cell of (a);    -   c) evaluating the plant of (b) for the presence of said at least        one nucleotide modification; and,    -   d) screening a progeny plant of (c) that is void of said guide        RNA and Cas endonuclease.-   36. The method of embodiment 35 further comprising selecting a plant    that shows resistance to glyphosate.-   37. A plant, plant cell or seed produced by any one of embodiments    29-36-   38. The method of any one of embodiments 29-36 wherein the Cas    endonuclease is a Cas9 endonuclease.-   39. The method of embodiment 38 wherein the Cas9 endonuclease is    expressed by SEQ ID NO:5.-   40. The method of embodiment 38 wherein the Cas9 endonuclease is    encoded by any one of SEQ ID NOs: 1, 124, 212, 213, 214, 215, 216,    193 or nucleotides 2037-6329 of SEQ ID NO:5, or any functional    fragment or variant thereof.-   41. The plant or plant cell of embodiment 37, wherein said plant    cell shows resistance to glyphosate.-   42. A plant cell comprising a modified nucleotide sequence, wherein    the modified nucleotide sequence was produced by providing a guide    RNA, a polynucleotide modification template and at least one Cas    endonuclease to a plant cell, wherein the Cas endonuclease is    capable of introducing a double-strand break at a target site in the    plant genome wherein said polynucleotide modification template    comprises at least one nucleotide modification of said nucleotide    sequence.-   43. The method of embodiments 29, 34 and 35 wherein the at least one    nucleotide modification is not a modification at said target site.-   44. A method for producing a male sterile plant, the method    comprising:    -   a) introducing into a plant cell a guide RNA and a Cas        endonuclease, wherein said guide RNA and Cas endonuclease are        capable of forming a complex that enables the Cas endonuclease        to introduce a double strand break at a target site located in        or near a male fertility gene;    -   b) identifying at least one plant cell that has a modification        in said male fertility gene, wherein the modification includes        at least one deletion or substitution of one or more nucleotides        in said male sterility gene; and,    -   c) obtaining a plant from the plant cell of b).-   45. The method of embodiment 43, further comprising selecting a    progeny plant from the plant of c) wherein said progeny plant is    male sterile.-   46. The method of embodiment 43, wherein the male fertility gene is    selected from the group comprising MS26, MS45 and MSCA1.-   47. A plant comprising at least one altered target site, wherein the    at least one altered target site originated from a corresponding    target site that was recognized and cleaved by a guide RNA/Cas    endonuclease system, and wherein the at least one altered target    site is in a genomic region of interest that extends from the target    sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO: 229 to the target site set forth in    SEQ ID NO: 235.-   48. The plant of embodiment 47, wherein the at least one altered    target site has an alteration selected from the group consisting    of (i) replacement of at least one nucleotide, (ii) a deletion of at    least one nucleotide, (iii) an insertion of at least one nucleotide,    and (iv) any combination of (i)-(iii).-   49. The plant of embodiment 47, wherein the at least one altered    target site comprises a recombinant DNA molecule.-   50. The plant of embodiment 47, wherein the plant comprises at least    two altered target sites, wherein each of the altered target site    originated from corresponding target site that was recognized and    cleaved by a guide RNA/Cas endonuclease system, wherein the    corresponding target site is selected from the group consisting of    SEQ ID NOs: 229, 230, 231, 232, 233, 234, 235 and 236.-   51. A recombinant DNA construct comprising a nucleotide sequence set    forth in SEQ ID NO: 120 or SEQ ID NO:295, or a functional fragment    thereof, operably linked to at least one heterologous sequence,    wherein said nucleotide sequence is a promoter.-   52. A plant stably transformed with a recombinant DNA construct    comprising a soybean promoter and a heterologous nucleic acid    fragment operably linked to said soybean promoter, wherein said    promoter is a capable of controlling expression of said heterologous    nucleic acid fragment in a plant cell, and further wherein said    promoter comprises any of the sequences set forth in SEQ ID NO: 120    or SEQ ID NO: 295.-   53. A method for editing a nucleotide sequence in the genome of a    cell, the method comprising introducing a guide polynucleotide, a    Cas endonuclease, and optionally a polynucleotide modification    template, into a cell, wherein said guide RNA and Cas endonuclease    are capable of forming a complex that enables the Cas endonuclease    to introduce a double strand break at a target site in the genome of    said cell, wherein said polynucleotide modification template    comprises at least one nucleotide modification of said nucleotide    sequence.-   54. The method of embodiment 53, wherein the nucleotide sequence in    the genome of a cell is selected from the group consisting of a    promoter sequence, a terminator sequence, a regulatory element    sequence, a splice site, a coding sequence, a polyubiquitination    site, an intron site and an intron enhancing motif.-   55. A method for editing a promoter sequence in the genome of a    cell, the method comprising introducing a guide polynucleotide, a    polynucleotide modification template and at least one Cas    endonuclease into a cell, wherein said guide RNA and Cas    endonuclease are capable of forming a complex that enables the Cas    endonuclease to introduce a double strand break at a target site in    the genome of said cell, wherein said polynucleotide modification    template comprises at least one nucleotide modification of said    nucleotide sequence.-   56. A method for replacing a first promoter sequence in a cell, the    method comprising introducing a guide RNA, a polynucleotide    modification template, and a Cas endonuclease into said cell,    wherein said guide RNA and Cas endonuclease are capable of forming a    complex that enables the Cas endonuclease to introduce a double    strand break at a target site in the genome of said cell, wherein    said polynucleotide modification template comprises a second    promoter or second promoter fragment that is different from said    first promoter sequence.-   57. The method of embodiment 56, wherein the replacement of the    first promoter sequence results in any one of the following, or any    one combination of the following: an increased promoter activity, an    increased promoter tissue specificity, a decreased promoter    activity, a decreased promoter tissue specificity, a new promoter    activity, an inducible promoter activity, an extended window of gene    expression, or a modification of the timing or developmental    progress of gene expression in the same cell layer or other cell    layer-   58. The method of embodiment 56, wherein the first promoter sequence    is selected from the group consisting of Zea mays ARGOS 8 promoter,    a soybean EPSPS1 promoter, a maize EPSPS promoter, maize NPK1    promoter, wherein the second promoter sequence is selected from the    group consisting of a Zea mays GOS2 PRO:GOS2-intron promoter, a    soybean ubiquitin promoter, a stress inducible maize RAB17 promoter,    a Zea mays-PEPC1 promoter, a Zea mays Ubiquitin promoter, a Zea    mays-Rootmet2 promoter, a rice actin promoter, a sorghum RCC3    promoter, a Zea mays-GOS2 promoter, a Zea mays-ACO2 promoter and a    Zea mays oleosin promoter.-   59. A method for deleting a promoter sequence in the genome of a    cell, the method comprising introducing a guide polynucleotide, a    Cas endonuclease into a cell, wherein said guide RNA and Cas    endonuclease are capable of forming a complex that enables the Cas    endonuclease to introduce a double strand break in at least one    target site located inside or outside said promoter sequence.-   60. A method for inserting a promoter or a promoter element in the    genome of a cell, the method comprising introducing a guide    polynucleotide, a polynucleotide modification template comprising    the promoter or the promoter element, and a Cas endonuclease into a    cell, wherein said guide RNA and Cas endonuclease are capable of    forming a complex that enables the Cas endonuclease to introduce a    double strand break at a target site in the genome of said cell.-   61. The method of embodiment 60, wherein the insertion of the    promoter or promoter element results in any one of the following, or    any one combination of the following: an increased promoter    activity, an increased promoter tissue specificity, a decreased    promoter activity, a decreased promoter tissue specificity, a new    promoter activity, an inducible promoter activity, an extended    window of gene expression, a modification of the timing or    developmental progress of gene expression, a mutation of DNA binding    elements, or an addition of DNA binding elements.-   62. A method for editing a Zinc Finger transcription factor, the    method comprising introducing a guide polynucleotide, a Cas    endonuclease, and optionally a polynucleotide modification template,    into a cell, wherein the Cas endonuclease introduces a double-strand    break at a target site in the genome of said cell, wherein said    polynucleotide modification template comprises at least one    nucleotide modification or deletion of said Zinc Finger    transcription factor, wherein the deletion or modification of said    Zinc Finger transcription factor results in the creation of a    dominant negative Zinc Finger transcription factor mutant.-   63. A method for creating a fusion protein, the method comprising    introducing a guide polynucleotide, a Cas endonuclease, and a    polynucleotide modification template, into a cell, wherein the Cas    endonuclease introduces a double-strand break at a target site    located inside or outside a first coding sequence in the genome of    said cell, wherein said polynucleotide modification template    comprises a second coding sequence encoding a protein of interest,    wherein the protein fusion results in any one of the following, or    any one combination of the following: a targeting of the fusion    protein to the chloroplast of said cell, an increased protein    activity, an increased protein functionality, a decreased protein    activity, a decreased protein functionality, a new protein    functionality, a modified protein functionality, a new protein    localization, a new timing of protein expression, a modified protein    expression pattern, a chimeric protein, or a modified protein with    dominant phenotype functionality.-   64. A method for producing in a plant a complex trait locus    comprising at least two altered target sequences in a genomic region    of interest, said method comprising:    -   (a) selecting a genomic region in a plant, wherein the genomic        region comprises a first target sequence and a second target        sequence;    -   (b) contacting at least one plant cell with at least a first        guide polynucleotide, a second polynucleotide, and optionally at        least one Donor DNA, and a Cas endonuclease, wherein the first        and second guide polynucleotide and the Cas endonuclease can        form a complex that enables the Cas endonuclease to introduce a        double strand break in at least a first and a second target        sequence;    -   (c) identifying a cell from (b) comprising a first alteration at        the first target sequence and a second alteration at the second        target sequence; and,    -   (d) recovering a first fertile plant from the cell of (c) said        fertile plant comprising the first alteration and the second        alteration, wherein the first alteration and the second        alteration are physically linked.-   65. A method for producing in a plant a complex trait locus    comprising at least two altered target sequences in a genomic region    of interest, said method comprising:    -   (a) selecting a genomic region in a plant, wherein the genomic        region comprises a first target sequence and a second target        sequence;    -   (b) contacting at least one plant cell with a first guide        polynucleotide, a Cas endonuclease, and optionally a first Donor        DNA, wherein the first guide polynucleotide and the Cas        endonuclease can form a complex that enables the Cas        endonuclease to introduce a double strand break a first target        sequence;    -   (c) identifying a cell from (b) comprising a first alteration at        the first target sequence;    -   (d) recovering a first fertile plant from the cell of (c), said        first fertile plant comprising the first alteration;    -   (e) contacting at least one plant cell with a second guide        polynucleotide, a Cas endonuclease, and optionally a second        Donor DNA;    -   (f) identifying a cell from (e) comprising a second alteration        at the second target sequence;    -   (g) recovering a second fertile plant from the cell of (f), said        second fertile plant comprising the second alteration; and,    -   (h) obtaining a fertile progeny plant from the second fertile        plant of (g), said fertile progeny plant comprising the first        alteration and the second alteration, wherein the first        alteration and the second alteration are physically linked.-   66. A method for editing a nucleotide sequence in the genome of a    cell, the method comprising introducing at least one guide RNA, at    least one polynucleotide modification template and at least one Cas    endonuclease into a cell, wherein the Cas endonuclease introduces a    double-strand break at a target site in the genome of said cell,    wherein said polynucleotide modification template comprises at least    one nucleotide modification of said nucleotide sequence.-   67. The method of embodiment 66 wherein the editing of said    nucleotide sequence renders said nucleotide sequence capable of    conferring herbicide resistance to said cell.-   68. The method of embodiment 67, wherein the cell is a plant cell.-   69. The method of embodiment 66 wherein the nucleotide sequence is a    promoter, a regulatory sequence or a gene of interest of interest.-   70. The method of embodiment 69 wherein the gene of interest is an    enolpyruvylshikimate-3-phosphate synthase (EPSPS) gene or an ALS    gene.-   71. The method of embodiment 66 wherein the plant cell is a monocot    or dicot plant cell.-   72. A method for producing an acetolactate synthase (ALS) mutant    plant, the method comprising:    -   a) providing a guide RNA, a polynucleotide modification        template, and a Cas endonuclease to a plant cell comprising an        ALS nucleotide sequence, wherein said guide RNA and Cas        endonuclease are capable of forming a complex that enables the        Cas endonuclease to introduce a double strand break at a target        site in the genome of said plant cell, wherein said        polynucleotide modification template comprises at least one        nucleotide modification of said ALS nucleotide sequence;    -   b) obtaining a plant from the plant cell of (a);    -   c) evaluating the plant of (b) for the presence of said at least        one nucleotide modification; and,    -   d) selecting a progeny plant that shows resistance to        sulphonylurea.-   73. A method for producing an acetolactate synthase (ALS) mutant    plant, the method comprising:    -   a) providing a guide RNA and a polynucleotide modification        template to a plant cell comprising a Cas endonuclease and an        ALS nucleotide sequence, wherein said Cas endonuclease        introduces a double strand break at a target site in the genome        of said plant cell, wherein said polynucleotide modification        template comprises at least one nucleotide modification of said        ALS nucleotide sequence;    -   b) obtaining a plant from the plant cell of (a);    -   c) evaluating the plant of (b) for the presence of said at least        one nucleotide modification; and,    -   d) selecting a progeny plant that shows resistance to        sulphonylurea.-   74. The method of any of embodiments 72-73, wherein said    polynucleotide modification template comprises a non-functional or    partial fragment of the ALS nucleotide sequence.-   75. The method of any of embodiments 72-73, wherein the target site    is located within the ALS nucleotide sequence.-   76. The method of any of embodiments 72-73, further comprising    selecting a progeny plant that is void of said guide RNA and Cas    endonuclease.-   77. A method for producing an acetolactate synthase (ALS) mutant    plant, the method comprising:    -   a) obtaining a plant or a seed thereof, wherein the plant or the        seed comprises a modification in an endogenous ALS gene, the        modification generated by a Cas endonuclease, a guide RNA and a        polynucleotide modification template, wherein the plant or the        seed is resistant to sulphonylurea; and,    -   b) producing a progeny plant that is void of said guide RNA and        Cas endonuclease.-   78. The method of embodiment 77 further comprising selecting a plant    that shows resistance to sulphonylurea.-   79. The method of any one of embodiments 72-78, wherein the plant is    a monocot or a dicot.-   80. The method of embodiment 79, wherein the monocot is selected    from the group consisting of maize, rice, sorghum, rye, barley,    wheat, millet, oats, sugarcane, turfgrass, or switchgrass.-   81. The method of embodiment 79, wherein the dicot is selected from    the group consisting of soybean, canola, alfalfa, sunflower, cotton,    tobacco, peanut, potato, tobacco, Arabidopsis, or safflower.-   82. A method of generating a sulphonylurea resistant plant, the    method comprising providing a plant cell wherein its endogenous    chromosomal ALS gene by has been modified through a guide RNA/Cas    endonuclease system to produce a sulphonylurea resistant ALS protein    and growing a plant from said maize plant cell, wherein said plant    is resistant to sulphonylurea.-   83. The method of embodiment 82, wherein the plant is a monocot or a    dicot.-   84. A plant produced by the method of embodiment 82.-   85. A seed produced by the plant of embodiment 84.-   86. A guide RNA wherein the variable targeting domain targets a    fragment of a plant EPSPS or ALS nucleotide sequence.-   87. A method for producing an acetolactate synthase (ALS) mutant    plant cell, the method comprising:    -   a) providing to a cell comprising an ALS nucleotide sequence, a        guide RNA, a Cas endonuclease, and a polynucleotide modification        template, wherein said guide RNA and Cas endonuclease are        capable of forming a complex that enables the Cas endonuclease        to introduce a double strand break at a target site in the        genome of said cell, wherein said polynucleotide modification        template comprises at least one nucleotide modification of said        ALS nucleotide sequence; and,    -   b) obtaining at least one plant cell of (a) that has at least        one nucleotide modification at said ALS nucleotide sequence,        wherein the modification includes at least one deletion,        insertion or substitution of one or more nucleotides in said ALS        nucleotide sequence.-   88. A method for producing an acetolactate synthase (ALS) mutant    plant cell, the method comprising:    -   a) providing a guide RNA and a polynucleotide modification        template to a plant cell comprising a Cas endonuclease and a ALS        nucleotide sequence, wherein said Cas endonuclease introduces a        double strand break at a target site in the genome of said plant        cell, wherein said polynucleotide modification template        comprises at least one nucleotide modification of said ALS        nucleotide sequence; and,    -   b) identifying at least one plant cell of (a) that has at least        one nucleotide modification at said ALS nucleotide sequence,        wherein the modification includes at least one deletion,        insertion or substitution of one or more nucleotides in said ALS        nucleotide sequence.-   89. A method for producing an acetolactate synthase (ALS) mutant    cell, the method comprising:    -   a) providing to a cell comprising an ALS nucleotide sequence, a        first recombinant DNA construct capable of expressing a guide        RNA, a second recombinant DNA construct capable of expressing a        Cas endonuclease, and a polynucleotide modification template,        wherein said guide RNA and Cas endonuclease are capable of        forming a complex that enables the Cas endonuclease to introduce        a double strand break at a target site in the genome of said        cell, wherein said polynucleotide modification template        comprises a non-functional fragment of the ALS gene and at least        one nucleotide modification of said ALS nucleotide sequence;        and,    -   b) identifying at least one cell of (a) that has at least one        nucleotide modification at said ALS nucleotide sequence, wherein        the modification includes at least one deletion, insertion or        substitution of one or more nucleotides in said ALS nucleotide        sequence.-   90. A recombinant DNA construct comprising a soybean U6 polymerase    III promoter driving a heterologous nucleic acid fragment encoding a    guide polynucleotide.-   91. The recombinant DNA construct of embodiment 90, wherein said    promoter comprises any of the sequences set forth in SEQ ID NO: 120    or SEQ ID NO:295, or a functional fragment thereof.-   92. A method for modifying a target site in the genome of a plant    cell, the method comprising introducing a guide RNA and a Cas    endonuclease into said plant cell, wherein said guide RNA and Cas    endonuclease are capable of forming a complex that enables the Cas    endonuclease to introduce a double strand break at said target site,    wherein said guide RNA is generated by a recombinant DNA construct    comprising a promoter comprising any of the sequences set forth in    SEQ ID NO: 120 or SEQ ID NO:295, or a functional fragment thereof.-   93. A recombinant DNA construct comprising a soybean U6 polymerase    III promoter driving a heterologous nucleic acid fragment encoding a    guide polynucleotide comprising:    -   (i) a first nucleotide sequence domain that is complementary to        a nucleotide sequence in a target DNA; and,    -   (ii) a second nucleotide sequence domain that interacts with a        Cas endonuclease, wherein the first nucleotide sequence domain        and the second nucleotide sequence domain are composed of        deoxyribonucleic acids (DNA), ribonucleic acids (RNA), or a        combination thereof, wherein the guide polynucleotide does not        solely comprise ribonucleic acids.

EXAMPLES

In the following Examples, unless otherwise stated, parts andpercentages are by weight and degrees are Celsius. It should beunderstood that these Examples, while indicating embodiments of thedisclosure, are given by way of illustration only. From the abovediscussion and these Examples, one skilled in the art can make variouschanges and modifications of the disclosure to adapt it to varioususages and conditions. Such modifications are also intended to fallwithin the scope of the appended claims.

Example 1 Maize Optimized Expression Cassettes for Guide RNA/CasEndonuclease Based Genome Modification in Maize Plants

For genome engineering applications, the type II CRISPR/Cas systemminimally requires the Cas9 protein and a duplexed crRNA/tracrRNAmolecule or a synthetically fused crRNA and tracrRNA (guide RNA)molecule for DNA target site recognition and cleavage (Gasiunas et al.(2012) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci.USA 109:E2579-86, Jinek et al. (2012)Science 337:816-21, Mali et al. (2013) Science 339:823-26, and Cong etal. (2013) Science 339:819-23). Described herein is a guideRNA/Casendonuclease system that is based on the type II CRISPR/Cas system andconsists of a Cas endonuclease and a guide RNA (or duplexed crRNA andtracrRNA) that together can form a complex that recognizes a genomictarget site in a plant and introduces a double-strand-break into saidtarget site.

To test the guide RNA/Cas endonuclease system in maize, the Cas9 genefrom Streptococcus pyogenes M1 GAS (SF370) (SEQ ID NO: 1) was maizecodon optimized per standard techniques known in the art and the potatoST-LS1 intron (SEQ ID NO: 2) was introduced in order to eliminate itsexpression in E. coli and Agrobacterium (FIG. 1A). To facilitate nuclearlocalization of the Cas9 protein in maize cells, Simian virus 40 (SV40)monopartite amino terminal nuclear localization signal (MAPKKKRKV, SEQID NO: 3) and Agrobacterium tumefaciens bipartite VirD2 T-DNA borderendonuclease carboxyl terminal nuclear localization signal(KRPRDRHDGELGGRKRAR, SEQ ID NO: 4) were incorporated at the amino andcarboxyl-termini of the Cas9 open reading frame (FIG. 1A), respectively.The maize optimized Cas9 gene was operably linked to a maizeconstitutive or regulated promoter by standard molecular biologicaltechniques. An example of the maize optimized Cas9 expression cassette(SEQ ID NO: 5) is illustrated in FIG. 1A. FIG. 1A shows a maizeoptimized Cas9 gene containing the ST-LS1 intron, SV40 amino terminalnuclear localization signal (NLS) and VirD2 carboxyl terminal NLS drivenby a plant Ubiquitin promoter.

The second component necessary to form a functional guide RNA/Casendonuclease system for genome engineering applications is a duplex ofthe crRNA and tracrRNA molecules or a synthetic fusing of the crRNA andtracrRNA molecules, a guide RNA. To confer efficient guide RNAexpression (or expression of the duplexed crRNA and tracrRNA) in maize,the maize U6 polymerase III promoter (SEQ ID NO: 9) and maize U6polymerase III terminator (first 8 bases of SEQ ID NO: 10) residing onchromosome 8 were isolated and operably fused to the termini of a guideRNA (FIG. 1B) using standard molecular biology techniques. Two differentguide RNA configurations were developed for testing in maize, a shortguide RNA (SEQ ID NO: 11) based on Jinek et al. (2012) Science337:816-21 and a long guide RNA (SEQ ID NO: 8) based on Mali et al.(2013) Science 339:823-26. An example expression cassette (SEQ ID NO:12) is shown in FIG. 1B which illustrates a maize U6 polymerase IIIpromoter driving expression of a long guide RNA terminated with a U6polymerase III terminator.

As shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B, the guide RNA or crRNA molecule contains aregion complementary to one strand of the double strand DNA target(referred to as the variable targeting domain) that is approximately12-30 nucleotides in length and upstream of a PAM sequence (5′NGG3′ onantisense strand of FIG. 2A-2B, corresponding to 5′CCN3′ on sense strandof FIG. 2A-2B) for target site recognition and cleavage (Gasiunas et al.(2012) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 109:E2579-86, Jinek et al. (2012)Science 337:816-21, Mali et al. (2013) Science 339:823-26, and Cong etal. (2013) Science 339:819-23). To facilitate the rapid introduction ofmaize genomic DNA target sequences into the crRNA or guide RNAexpression constructs, two Type IIS Bbsl restriction endonuclease targetsites were introduced in an inverted tandem orientation with cleavageorientated in an outward direction as described in Cong et al. (2013)Science 339:819-23. Upon cleavage, the Type IIS restriction endonucleaseexcises its target sites from the crRNA or guide RNA expression plasmid,generating overhangs allowing for the in-frame directional cloning ofduplexed oligos containing the desired maize genomic DNA target siteinto the variable targeting domain. In this example, only targetsequences starting with a G nucleotide were used to promote favorablepolymerase III expression of the guide RNA or crRNA.

Expression of both the Cas endonuclease gene and the guide RNA thenallows for the formation of the guide RNA/Cas complex depicted in FIG.2B (SEQ ID NO: 8). Alternatively, expression of the Cas endonucleasesgene, crRNA, and tracrRNA allow for the formation of thecrRNA/tracrRNA/Cas complex as depicted in FIG. 2A, (SEQ ID NOs: 6-7).

Example 2 The Guide RNA/Cas Endonuclease System Cleaves Chromosomal DNAin Maize and Introduces Mutations by Imperfect Non-HomologousEnd-Joining

To test whether the maize optimized guide RNA/Cas endonuclease describedin example 1 could recognize, cleave, and mutate maize chromosomal DNAthrough imprecise non-homologous end-joining (NHEJ) repair pathways,three different genomic target sequences in 5 maize loci were targetedfor cleavage (see Table 1) and examined by deep sequencing for thepresence of NHEJ mutations.

TABLE 1 Maize genomic target sites targeted by a guideRNA/Casendonuclease system. Guide PAM SEQ RNA Target SiteMaize Genomic Target Site Se- ID Locus Location Used DesignationSequence quence NO: MS26 Chr. 1: Long MS26Cas-1 GTACTCCATCCGCCCCATCGAGTAGGG 13 51.81 cM Long MS26Cas-2 GCACGTACGTCACCATCCCGC CGG 14 LongMS26Cas-3 GACGTACGTGCCCTACTCGAT GGG 15 LIG Chr. 2: Long LIGCas-1GTACCGTACGTGCCCCGGCGG AGG 16 28.45 cM Long LIGCas-2GGAATTGTACCGTACGTGCCC CGG 17 Long LIGCas-3 GCGTACGCGTACGTGTG AGG 18 MS45Chr. 9: Long MS45Cas-1 GCTGGCCGAGGTCGACTAC CGG 19 119.15 cM LongMS45Cas-2 GGCCGAGGTCGACTACCGGC CGG 20 Long MS45Cas-3GGCGCGAGCTCGTGCTTCAC CGG 21 ALS Chr. 4: Long ALSCas-1 GGTGCCAATCATGCGTCGCGG 22 107.73 cM Long ALSCas-2 GGTCGCCATCACGGGAC AGG 23 and LongALSCas-3 GTCGCGGCACCTGTCCCGTGA TGG 24 Chr. 5: 115.49 cM EPSPS Chr. 9:Long EPSPSCas-1 GGAATGCTGGAACTGCAATG CGG 25 69.43 cM Long EPSPSCas-2GCAGCTCTTCTTGGGGAATGC TGG 26 Long EPSPSCas-3 GCAGTAACAGCTGCTGTCAA TGG 27MS26 = Male Sterility Gene 26, LIG = Liguleless 1 Gene Promoter, MS45 =Male Sterility Gene 45, ALS = Acetolactate Synthase Gene, EPSPS =Enolpyruvylshikimate Phosphate Synthase Gene

The maize optimized Cas9 endonuclease and long guide RNA expressioncassettes containing the specific maize variable targeting domains wereco-delivered to 60-90 Hi-II immature maize embryos by particle-mediateddelivery (see Example 10) in the presence of BBM and WUS2 genes (seeExample 11). Hi-II maize embryos transformed with either the LIG3-4 orMS26++ homing endonucleases (see Example 9) targeting the same maizegenomic loci as the LIGCas or MS26Cas target sites served as a positivecontrol and embryos transformed with only the Cas9 or guide RNAexpression cassette served as negative controls. After 7 days, the 20-30most uniformly transformed embryos from each treatment were pooled andtotal genomic DNA was extracted. The region surrounding the intendedtarget site was PCR amplified with Phusion® High Fidelity PCR Master Mix(New England Biolabs, M0531 L) adding on the sequences necessary foramplicon-specific barcodes and Illumnia sequencing using “tailed”primers through two rounds of PCR. The primers used in the primary PCRreaction are shown in Table 2 and the primers used in the secondary PCRreaction were AATGATACGGCGACCACCGAGATCTACACTCTTTCCCTACACG (forward, SEQID NO: 53) and CAAGCAGAAGACGGCATA (reverse, SEQ ID NO: 54).

TABLE 2 PCR primer sequences SEQ Primer ID Target Site OrientationPrimary PCR Primer Sequence NO: MS26Cas-1 ForwardCTACACTCTTTCCCTACACGACGCTCTTCCGATCTA 28 GGACCGGAAGCTCGCCGCGT MS26Cas-1Reverse CAAGCAGAAGACGGCATACGAGCTCTTCCGATCTT 29 CCTGGAGGACGACGTGCTGMS26Cas-2 Forward CTACACTCTTTCCCTACACGACGCTCTTCCGATCTA 30AGGTCCTGGAGGACGACGTGCTG MS26Cas-2 ReverseCAAGCAGAAGACGGCATACGAGCTCTTCCGATCTC 31 CGGAAGCTCGCCGCGT MS26Cas-3Forward CTACACTCTTTCCCTACACGACGCTCTTCCGATCTT 32 CCTCCGGAAGCTCGCCGCGTMS26Cas-3 Reverse CAAGCAGAAGACGGCATACGAGCTCTTCCGATCTT 29CCTGGAGGACGACGTGCTG MS26 Forward CTACACTCTTTCCCTACACGACGCTCTTCCGATCTT 33Meganuclease TCCTCCTGGAGGACGACGTGCTG MS26 ReverseCAAGCAGAAGACGGCATACGAGCTCTTCCGATCTC 31 Meganuclease CGGAAGCTCGCCGCGTLIGCas-1 Forward CTACACTCTTTCCCTACACGACGCTCTTCCGATCTA 34GGACTGTAACGATTTACGCACCTGCTG LIGCas-1 ReverseCAAGCAGAAGACGGCATACGAGCTCTTCCGATCTG 35 CAAATGAGTAGCAGCGCACGTAT LIGCas-2Forward CTACACTCTTTCCCTACACGACGCTCTTCCGATCTT 36CCTCTGTAACGATTTACGCACCTGCTG LIGCas-2 ReverseCAAGCAGAAGACGGCATACGAGCTCTTCCGATCTG 35 CAAATGAGTAGCAGCGCACGTAT LIGCas-3Forward CTACACTCTTTCCCTACACGACGCTCTTCCGATCTA 37 AGGCGCAAATGAGTAGCAGCGCACLIGCas-3 Reverse CAAGCAGAAGACGGCATACGAGCTCTTCCGATCTC 38ACCTGCTGGGAATTGTACCGTA LIG3-4 ForwardCTACACTCTTTCCCTACACGACGCTCTTCCGATCTC 39 MeganucleaseCTTCGCAAATGAGTAGCAGCGCAC LIG3-4 ReverseCAAGCAGAAGACGGCATACGAGCTCTTCCGATCTC 38 MeganucleaseACCTGCTGGGAATTGTACCGTA MS45Cas-1 ForwardCTACACTCTTTCCCTACACGACGCTCTTCCGATCTA 40 GGAGGACCCGTTCGGCCTCAGT MS45Cas-1Reverse CAAGCAGAAGACGGCATACGAGCTCTTCCGATCTG 41 CCGGCTGGCATTGTCTCTGMS45Cas-2 Forward CTACACTCTTTCCCTACACGACGCTCTTCCGATCTT 42CCTGGACCCGTTCGGCCTCAGT MS45Cas-2 ReverseCAAGCAGAAGACGGCATACGAGCTCTTCCGATCTG 41 CCGGCTGGCATTGTCTCTG MS45Cas-3Forward CTACACTCTTTCCCTACACGACGCTCTTCCGATCT 43 GAAGGGACCCGTTCGGCCTCAGTMS45Cas-3 Reverse CAAGCAGAAGACGGCATACGAGCTCTTCCGATCTG 41CCGGCTGGCATTGTCTCTG ALSCas-1 ForwardCTACACTCTTTCCCTACACGACGCTCTTCCGATCTA 44 AGGCGACGATGGGCGTCTCCTG ALSCas-1Reverse CAAGCAGAAGACGGCATACGAGCTCTTCCGATCTG 45 CGTCTGCATCGCCACCTCALSCas-2 Forward CTACACTCTTTCCCTACACGACGCTCTTCCGATCTT 46TCCCGACGATGGGCGTCTCCTG ALSCas-2 ReverseCAAGCAGAAGACGGCATACGAGCTCTTCCGATCTG 45 CGTCTGCATCGCCACCTC ALSCas-3Forward CTACACTCTTTCCCTACACGACGCTCTTCCGATCT 47 GGAACGACGATGGGCGTCTCCTGALSCas-3 Reverse CAAGCAGAAGACGGCATACGAGCTCTTCCGATCTG 45CGTCTGCATCGCCACCTC EPSPSCas-1 ForwardCTACACTCTTTCCCTACACGACGCTCTTCCGATCT 48 GGAAGAGGAAACATACGTTGCATTTCCAEPSPSCas-1 Reverse CAAGCAGAAGACGGCATACGAGCTCTTCCGATCTG 49GTGGAAAGTTCCCAGTTGAGGA EPSPSCas-2 ForwardCTACACTCTTTCCCTACACGACGCTCTTCCGATCTA 50 AGCGGTGGAAAGTTCCCAGTTGAGGAEPSPSCas-2 Reverse CAAGCAGAAGACGGCATACGAGCTCTTCCGATCTG 51AGGAAACATACGTTGCATTTCCA EPSPSCas-3 ForwardCTACACTCTTTCCCTACACGACGCTCTTCCGATCTC 52 CTTGAGGAAACATACGTTGCATTTCCAEPSPSCas-3 Reverse CAAGCAGAAGACGGCATACGAGCTCTTCCGATCTG 49GTGGAAAGTTCCCAGTTGAGGA

The resulting PCR amplifications were purified with a Qiagen PCRpurification spin column, concentration measured with a Hoechstdye-based fluorometric assay, combined in an equimolar ratio, and singleread 100 nucleotide-length deep sequencing was performed on Illumina'sMiSeq Personal Sequencer with a 30-40% (v/v) spike of PhiX control v3(Illumina, FC-110-3001) to off-set sequence bias. Only those reads witha nucleotide indel arising within the 10 nucleotide window centered overthe expected site of cleavage and not found in a similar level in thenegative control were classified as NHEJ mutations. NHEJ mutant readswith the same mutation were counted and collapsed into a single read andthe top 10 most prevalent mutations were visually confirmed as arisingwithin the expected site of cleavage. The total numbers of visuallyconfirmed NHEJ mutations were then used to calculate the % mutant readsbased on the total number of reads of an appropriate length containing aperfect match to the barcode and forward primer.

The frequency of NHEJ mutations recovered by deep sequencing for theguide RNA/Cas endonuclease system targeting the three LIGCas targets(SEQ ID NOS: 16, 17, 18) compared to the LIG3-4 homing endonucleasetargeting the same locus is shown in Table 3. The ten most prevalenttypes of NHEJ mutations recovered based on the guide RNA/Casendonuclease system compared to the LIG3-4 homing endonuclease are shownin FIG. 3A (corresponding to SEQ ID NOs: 55-75) and FIG. 3B(corresponding to SEQ ID NOs: 76-96). Approximately, 12-23 fold higherfrequencies of NHEJ mutations were observed when using a guide RNA/Cassystem to introduce a double strand break at a maize genomic target site(Cas target sites), relative to the LIG3-4 homing endonuclease control.As shown in Table 4, a similar difference between the guide RNA/Cassystem and meganuclease double-strand break technologies was observed atthe MS26 locus with approximately 14-25 fold higher frequencies of NHEJmutations when a guide RNA/Cas endonuclease system was used. Highfrequencies of NHEJ mutations were also recovered at the MS45, ALS andEPSPS Cas targets (see Table 5) when using a guide RNA/Cas endonucleasesystem. This data indicates that the guide RNA/Cas9 endonuclease systemdescribed herein can be effectively used to introduce an alteration atgenomic sites of interest such as those related to male fertility,wherein an alteration results in the creation of a male sterile genelocus and male sterile plants. Altering the EPSPS target can result inthe production of plants that are tolerant and/or resistant againstglyphosate based herbicides. Altering the acetolactate synthase (ALS)gene target site can result in the production of plants that aretolerant and/or resistant to imidazolinone and sulphonylurea herbicides.

TABLE 3 Percent (%) mutant reads at maize Liguleless 1 target locusproduced by a guide RNA/Cas system versus a homing endonuclease system.Total Number Number of System of Reads Mutant Reads % Mutant Reads Cas9Only Control 640,063 1 0.00% guide RNA Only 646,774 1 0.00% ControlLIG3-4 Homing 616,536 1,211 0.20% Endonuclease LIGCas-1 guide/ 716,85433,050 4.61% Cas9 LIGCas-2 guide/ 711,047 16,675 2.35% Cas9 LIGCas-3guide/ 713,183 27,959 3.92% Cas9

TABLE 4 Percent (%) mutant reads at maize Male Sterility 26 target locusproduced by a guide RNA/Cas system versus a homing endonuclease. TotalNumber Number of System of Reads Mutant Reads % Mutant Reads Cas9 OnlyControl 403,123 15 0.00% MS26++ Homing 512,784 642 0.13% EndonucleaseMS26Cas-1 guide/ 575,671 10,073 1.75% Cas9 MS26Cas-2 guide/ 543,85616,930 3.11% Cas9 MS26Cas-3 guide/ 538,141 13,879 2.58% Cas9

TABLE 5 Percent (%) mutant reads at maize Male Sterility 45,Acetolactate Synthase and Enolpyruvylshikimate Phosphate Synthase targetloci produced by the guide RNA/Cas system. Total Number of Number ofSystem Reads Mutant Reads % Mutant Reads Cas9 Only 899,500 27 0.00%Control (MS45) MS45Cas-1 812,644 3,795 0.47% guide/Cas9 MS45Cas-2785,183 14,704 1.87% guide/Cas9 MS45Cas-3 728,023 9,203 1.26% guide/Cas9Cas9 Only 534,764 19 0.00% Control (ALS) ALSCas-1 434,452 9,669 2.23%guide/Cas9 ALSCas-2 472,351 6,352 1.345%  guide/Cas9 ALSCas-3 497,7868,535 1.715%  guide/Cas9 Cas9 Only 1,347,086 6 0.00% Control (EPSPS)EPSPSCas-1 1,420,274 13,051 0.92% guide/Cas9 EPSPSCas-2 1,225,082 26,3402.15% guide/Cas9 EPSPSCas-3 1,406,905 53,603 3.81% guide/Cas9

Taken together, our data indicate that the maize optimized guide RNA/Casendonuclease system described herein using a long guide RNA expressioncassette efficiently cleaves maize chromosomal DNA and generatesimperfect NHEJ mutations at frequencies greater than the engineeredLIG3-4 and MS26++ homing endonucleases.

Example 3 Long Guide RNA of the Maize Optimized Guide RNA/CasEndonuclease System Cleaves Maize Chromosomal DNA More Efficiently thanthe Short Guide RNA

To determine the most effective guide RNA (comprising a fusion of thecrRNA and tracrRNA) for use in maize, the recovery of NHEJ mutationsusing a short guide RNA (SEQ ID NO: 11) based on Jinek et al. (2012)Science 337:816-21 and a long guide RNA (SEQ ID NO: 8) based on Mali etal. (2013) Science 339:823-26 was examined.

The variable targeting domains of the guide RNA targeting the maizegenomic target sites at the LIG locus (LIGCas-1, LIGCas-2 and LIGCas-3,SEQ ID NOs: 16, 17 and 18, Table1) were introduced into both the maizeoptimized long and short guide RNA expression cassettes as described inExample 1 and co-transformed along with the maize optimized Cas9endonuclease expression cassette into immature maize embryos and deepsequenced for NHEJ mutations as described in Example 2. Embryostransformed with only the Cas9 endonuclease expression cassette servedas a negative control.

As shown in Table 6 below, the frequency of NHEJ mutations recoveredwith the long guide RNA far exceeded those obtained with the short guideRNA. This data indicates that the long guide RNA paired with the maizeoptimized Cas9 endonuclease gene described herein more efficientlycleaves maize chromosomal DNA.

TABLE 6 Percent (%) mutant reads at the maize Liguleless 1 target locusproduced by a guide RNA/Cas system with a long versus a short guide RNA.guide Total Number Number of % Mutant System RNA Used of Reads MutantReads Reads Cas9 Only N/A 640,063 1 0.00% LIGCas-1 Short 676,870 430.01% guide/Cas9 LIGCas-2 Short 747,945 91 0.01% guide/Cas9 LIGCas-3Short 655,157 10 0.00% guide/Cas9 LIGCas-1 Long 716,854 33,050 4.61%guide/Cas9 LIGCas-2 Long 711,047 16,675 2.35% guide/cas9 LIGCas-3 Long713,183 27,959 3.92% guide/Cas9

Example 4 The Guide RNA/Cas Endonuclease System May be Multiplexed toSimultaneously Target Multiple Chromosomal Loci in Maize for Mutagenesisby Imperfect Non-Homologous End-Joining

To test if multiple chromosomal loci may be simultaneously mutagenizedwith the guide RNA/maize optimized Cas endonuclease system describedherein, the long guide RNA expression cassettes targeting the MS26Cas-2target site (SEQ ID NO: 14), the LIGCas-3 target site (SEQ ID NO: 18)and the MS45Cas-2 target site (SEQ ID NO: 20), were co-transformed intomaize embryos either in duplex or in triplex along with the Cas9endonuclease expression cassette and examined by deep sequencing for thepresence of imprecise NHEJ mutations as described in Example 2.

Hi-II maize embryos co-transformed with the Cas9 expression cassette andthe corresponding guide RNA expression cassette singly served as apositive control and embryos transformed with only the Cas9 expressioncassette served as a negative control.

As shown in Table 7 below, mutations resulting from imprecise NHEJ wererecovered at all relevant loci when multiple guide RNA expressioncassettes were simultaneously introduced either in duplex or triplexwith frequencies of mutant reads near those of the positive control.Thus, demonstrating that the maize optimized guide RNA/Cas endonucleasesystem described herein may be used to simultaneously introduceimprecise NHEJ mutations at multiple loci in maize.

TABLE 7 Percent (%) mutant reads at maize target loci produced by amultiplexed guide RNA/Cas system. guide RNAs Target Site Co-transformedExamined for Individually, in Total Number of NHEJ Duplex, or in Numberof Mutant % Mutant Mutations Triplex with Cas9 Reads Reads ReadsLIGCas-3, None (Cas9 Only 527,691 9 0.00% MS26Cas-2, control) MS45Cas-2LIGCas-3 LIGCas-3 645,107 12,631 1.96% LIGCas-3 579,992 10,348 1.78%MS26Cas-2 LIGCas-3 648,901 12,094 1.86% MS26Cas-2 MS45Cas-2 MS26Cas-2MS26 Cas 2 699,154 17,247 2.47% LIGCas-3 717,158 10,256 1.43% MS26Cas-2MS26Cas-2 613,431 9,931 1.62% MS45Cas-2 LIGCas-3 471,890 7,311 1.55%MS26Cas-2 MS45Cas-2 MS45Cas-2 MS45Cas-2 503,423 10,034 1.99% MS26Cas-2480,178 8,008 1.67% MS45Cas-2 LIGCas-3 416,711 7,190 1.73% MS26Cas-2MS45Cas-2

Example 5 Guide RNA/Cas Endonuclease Mediated DNA Cleavage in MaizeChromosomal Loci Can Stimulate Homologous Recombination Repair-MediatedTransgene Insertion

To test the utility of the maize optimized guide RNA/Cas systemdescribed herein to cleave maize chromosomal loci and stimulatehomologous recombination (HR) repair pathways to site-specificallyinsert a transgene, a HR repair DNA vector (also referred to as a donorDNA) (SEQ ID NO: 97) was constructed as illustrated in FIG. 4 usingstandard molecular biology techniques and co-transformed with a longguide RNA expression cassette, comprising a variable targeting domaincorresponding to the LIGCas-3 genomic target site, and a Cas9endonuclease expression cassette into immature maize embryos asdescribed in Example 2.

Maize embryos co-transformed with the HR repair DNA vector and LIG3-4homing endonuclease (see Example 9) targeting the same genomic targetsite as LIGCas-3 served as a positive control. Since successful deliveryof the HR repair DNA vector confers bialaphos herbicide resistance,callus events containing putative HR-mediated transgenic insertions wereselected by placing the callus on herbicide containing media. Afterselection, stable callus events were sampled, total genomic DNAextracted, and using the primer pairs shown in FIG. 5 (corresponding toSEQ ID NOs: 98-101), PCR amplification was carried out at both possibletransgene genomic DNA junctions to identify putative HR-mediatedtransgenic insertions. The resulting amplifications were sequenced forconfirmation.

Sequence confirmed PCR amplifications indicating site-specific transgeneinsertion for the guide RNA/Cas system were detected for 37 out of 384stable transformants with 15 containing amplifications across bothtransgene genomic DNA junctions indicating near perfect site-specifictransgene insertion. The LIG3-4 homing endonuclease positive controlyielded PCR amplifications indicating site-specific transgene insertionfor 3 out of 192 stable transformants with 1 containing amplificationsacross both transgene genomic DNA junctions. The data clearlydemonstrates that maize chromosomal loci cleaved with the maizeoptimized guide RNA/Cas system described herein can be used to stimulateHR repair pathways to site-specifically insert transgenes at frequenciesgreater than the LIG3-4 homing endonuclease.

Example 6 Guide RNA/Cas Endonuclease System Transformed Together on aSingle Vector Results in Greater Recovery of Imperfect Non-HomologousEnd-Joining Mutations

To evaluate different delivery methods for the maize optimized guideRNA/Cas endonuclease system described herein, the recovery of NHEJmutations when the guide RNA/Cas expression cassettes were eitherco-transformed as separate DNA vectors as in Examples 2, 3, 4 and 5 ortransformed as a single vector DNA (comprising both guide RNA and Casendonuclease expression cassettes, as shown in FIG. 1C) was examined.

The long guide RNA expression cassette for LIGCas-3 and the Cas9expression cassette were consolidated onto a single vector DNA (FIG. 1C,SEQ ID NO: 102) by standard molecular biology techniques and transformedinto immature Hi-II maize embryos as described in Examples 10 and 11 byparticle-mediated delivery. Hi-II embryos co-transformed with the Cas9and LIGCas-3 long guide RNA expression cassettes served as a positivecontrol while embryos transformed with only the Cas9 expression cassetteserved as a negative control. Deep sequencing for NHEJ mutations wasperformed as described in Example 2.

As shown in Table 8 below, the frequency of NHEJ mutations recoveredwhen the Cas endonuclease and long guide RNA expression cassettes weredelivered together as a single vector DNA was approximately 2-foldgreater than that observed from the equivalent co-transformationexperiment. This indicates that delivery of the guide RNA/Cas systemexpression cassettes together on a single vector DNA resuls in a greaterrecovery of imperfect non-homologous end-joining mutations.

TABLE 8 Percent (%) mutant reads at the maize Liguleless 1 target locusproduced by a guide RNA/Cas system with Cas9 and guide RNA expressioncassettes combined into one DNA vector versus two separate DNA vectors.Total Number Number of System of Reads Mutant Reads % Mutant Reads Cas9Only Control 1,519,162 97 0.01% LIGCas-3 1,515,0607 36,346 2.40%guide/Cas9 (Two vector DNAs) LIGCas-3 1,860,031 105,854 5.69% guide/Cas9(Single vector DNA)

Example 7 Delivery Methods for Plant Genome Editing Using the GuideRNA/Cas Endonuclease System

This example describes methods to deliver or maintain and express theCas9 endonuclease and guide RNA (or individual crRNA and tracrRNAs)into, or within plants, respectively, to enable directed DNAmodification or gene insertion via homologous recombination. Morespecifically this example describes a variety of methods which include,but are not limited to, delivery of the Cas9 endonuclease as a DNA, RNA(5′-capped and polyadenylated) or protein molecule. In addition, theguide RNA may be delivered as a DNA or RNA molecule.

Shown in Example 2, a high mutation frequency was observed when Cas9endonuclease and guide RNA were delivered as DNA vectors by biolistictransformation of immature corn embryos. Other embodiments of thisdisclosure can be to deliver the Cas9 endonuclease as a DNA, RNA orprotein and the guide RNA as a DNA or RNA molecule or as a duplexcrRNA/tracrRNA molecule as RNA or DNA or a combination. Variouscombinations of Cas9 endonuclease, guide RNA and crRNA/tracrRNA deliverymethods can be, but are not limited to, the methods shown in Table 9.

TABLE 9 Various combinations of delivery of the cas9 endonuclease, guideRNA or cRNA + tracrRNA. Components delivered. combination (Deliverymethod is shown between brackets) 1 Cas9 (DNA vector), guide RNA (DNAvector) 2 Cas9 (DNA vector), guide RNA (RNA) 3 Cas9 (RNA), guide RNA(DNA) 4 Cas9 (RNA), guide RNA (RNA) 5 Cas9 (Protein), guide RNA (DNA) 6Cas9 (Protein), guide RNA (RNA) 7 Cas9 (DNA vector), crRNA (DNA),tracrRNA (DNA) 8 Cas9 (DNA vector), crRNA (RNA), tracrRNA (DNA) 9 Cas9(DNA vector), crRNA (RNA), tracrRNA (RNA) 10 Cas9 (DNA vector) crRNA(DNA), tracrRNA (RNA) 11 Cas9 (RNA), crRNA (DNA), tracrRNA (DNA) 12 Cas9(RNA), crRNA (RNA), tracrRNA (DNA) 13 Cas9 (RNA), crRNA (RNA), tracrRNA(RNA) 14 Cas9 (RNA), crRNA (DNA), tracrRNA (RNA) 15 Cas9 (Protein),crRNA (DNA), tracrRNA (DNA) 16 Cas9 (Protein), crRNA (RNA), tracrRNA(DNA) 17 Cas9 (Protein), crRNA (RNA), tracrRNA 18(RNA) 18 Cas9(Protein), crRNA (DNA), tracrRNA (RNA)

Delivery of the Cas9 (as DNA vector) and guide RNA (as DNA vector)example (Table 9, combination1) can also be accomplished byco-delivering these DNA cassettes on a single or multiple Agrobacteriumvectors and transforming plant tissues by Agrobacterium mediatedtransformation. In addition, a vector containing a constitutive,tissue-specific or conditionally regulated Cas9 gene can be firstdelivered to plant cells to allow for stable integration into the plantgenome to establish a plant line that contains only the Cas9 gene in theplant genome. In this example, single or multiple guide RNAs, or singleor multiple crRNA and a tracrRNA can be delivered as either DNA or RNA,or combination, to the plant line containing the genome-integratedversion of the Cas9 gene for the purpose of generating mutations orpromoting homologous recombination when HR repair DNA vectors fortargeted integration are co-delivered with the guide RNAs. As extensionof this example, plant line containing the genome-integrated version ofthe Cas9 gene and a tracrRNA as a DNA molecule can also be established.In this example single or multiple crRNA molecules can be delivered asRNA or DNA to promote the generation of mutations or to promotehomologous recombination when HR repair DNA vectors for targetedintegration are co-delivered with crRNA molecule(s) enabling thetargeted mutagenesis or homologous recombination at single or multiplesites in the plant genome.

Example 8 Components of the Guide RNA/Cas Endonuclease System DeliveredDirectly as RNA in Plants

This example illustrates the use of the methods as described in Table 9configuration of Example 7 [Cas9 (DNA vector), guide RNA (RNA)] formodification or mutagenesis of chromosomal loci in plants. The maizeoptimized Cas9 endonuclease expression cassette described in Example 1was co-delivered by particle gun as described in Example 2 along withsingle stranded RNA molecules (synthesized by Integrated DNATechnologies, Inc.) constituting a short guide RNA targeting the maizelocus and sequence shown in Table 10. Embryos transformed with only theCas9 expression cassette or short guide RNA molecules served as negativecontrols. Seven days post-bombardment, the immature embryos wereharvested and analyzed by deep sequencing for NHEJ mutations asdescribed in Example 2. Mutations not present in the negative controlswere found at the site (FIG. 6, corresponding to SEQ ID NOs: 104-110).These mutations were similar to those found in Examples 2, 3, 4 and 6.This data indicates that component(s) of the maize optimized guideRNA/Cas endonuclease system described herein may be delivered directlyas RNA.

TABLE 10 Maize genomic target site and location forshort guide RNA delivered as RNA. Guide Maize PAM SEQ Loca- RNA Designa-Target Se- ID Locus tion Used tion Site quence NO 55 Chr. Short55CasRNA- TGGGCAGGTC TGG 103 1: 1 TCACGACGGT 51.78 cM

Example 9 Creation of Rare Cutting Engineered Meganucleases

LIG3-4 Meganuclease and LIG3-4 Intended Recognition Sequence

An endogenous maize genomic target site comprising the LIG3-4 intendedrecognition sequence (SEQ ID NO: 111) was selected for design of arare-cutting double-strand break inducing agent (SEQ ID NO: 112) asdescribed in US patent publication 2009-0133152 A1 (published May 21,2009). The LIG3-4 intended recognition sequence is a 22 bppolynucleotide having the following sequence:

(SEQ ID NO: 111) ATATACCTCACACGTACGCGTA.MS 26 ++ Meganuclease

An endogenous maize genomic target site designated “TS-MS26” (SEQ ID NO:113) was selected for design of a custom double-strand break inducingagent MS26++ as described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/526,912filed Jun. 19, 2012). The TS-MS26 target site is a 22 bp polynucleotidepositioned 62 bps from the 5′ end of the fifth exon of the maize MS26gene and having the following sequence: gatggtgacgtac{circumflex over( )}gtgccctac (SEQ ID NO: 113). The double strand break site andoverhang region is underlined, the enzyme cuts after C13, as indicatedby the {circumflex over ( )}. Plant optimized nucleotide sequences foran engineered endonuclease (SEQ ID NO: 114) encoding an engineeredMS26++ endonuclease were designed to bind and make double-strand breaksat the selected TS-MS26 target site.

Example 10 Transformation of Maize Immature Embryos

Transformation can be accomplished by various methods known to beeffective in plants, including particle-mediated delivery,Agrobacterium-mediated transformation, PEG-mediated delivery, andelectroporation.

a. Particle-Mediated Delivery

Transformation of maize immature embryos using particle delivery isperformed as follows. Media recipes follow below.

The ears are husked and surface sterilized in 30% Clorox bleach plus0.5% Micro detergent for 20 minutes, and rinsed two times with sterilewater. The immature embryos are isolated and placed embryo axis sidedown (scutellum side up), 25 embryos per plate, on 560Y medium for 4hours and then aligned within the 2.5-cm target zone in preparation forbombardment. Alternatively, isolated embryos are placed on 560 L(Initiation medium) and placed in the dark at temperatures ranging from26° C. to 37° C. for 8 to 24 hours prior to placing on 560Y for 4 hoursat 26° C. prior to bombardment as described above.

Plasmids containing the double strand brake inducing agent and donor DNAare constructed using standard molecular biology techniques andco-bombarded with plasmids containing the developmental genes ODP2 (AP2domain transcription factor ODP2 (Ovule development protein 2);US20090328252 A1) and Wushel (US2011/0167516).

The plasmids and DNA of interest are precipitated onto 0.6 μm (averagediameter) gold pellets using a water-soluble cationic lipid transfectionreagent as follows. DNA solution is prepared on ice using 1 μg ofplasmid DNA and optionally other constructs for co-bombardment such as50 ng (0.5 μl) of each plasmid containing the developmental genes ODP2(AP2 domain transcription factor ODP2 (Ovule development protein 2);US20090328252 A1) and Wushel. To the pre-mixed DNA, 20 μl of preparedgold particles (15 mg/ml) and 5 μl of the a water-soluble cationic lipidtransfection reagent is added in water and mixed carefully. Goldparticles are pelleted in a microfuge at 10,000 rpm for 1 min andsupernatant is removed. The resulting pellet is carefully rinsed with100 ml of 100% EtOH without resuspending the pellet and the EtOH rinseis carefully removed. 105 μl of 100% EtOH is added and the particles areresuspended by brief sonication. Then, 10 μl is spotted onto the centerof each macrocarrier and allowed to dry about 2 minutes beforebombardment.

Alternatively, the plasmids and DNA of interest are precipitated onto1.1 μm (average diameter) tungsten pellets using a calcium chloride(CaCl₂) precipitation procedure by mixing 100 μl prepared tungstenparticles in water, 10 μl (1 μg) DNA in Tris EDTA buffer (1 μg totalDNA), 100 μl 2.5 M CaC12, and 10 μl 0.1 M spermidine. Each reagent isadded sequentially to the tungsten particle suspension, with mixing. Thefinal mixture is sonicated briefly and allowed to incubate underconstant vortexing for 10 minutes. After the precipitation period, thetubes are centrifuged briefly, liquid is removed, and the particles arewashed with 500 ml 100% ethanol, followed by a 30 second centrifugation.Again, the liquid is removed, and 105 μl 100% ethanol is added to thefinal tungsten particle pellet. For particle gun bombardment, thetungsten/DNA particles are briefly sonicated. 10 μl of the tungsten/DNAparticles is spotted onto the center of each macrocarrier, after whichthe spotted particles are allowed to dry about 2 minutes beforebombardment.

The sample plates are bombarded at level #4 with a Biorad Helium Gun.All samples receive a single shot at 450 PSI, with a total of tenaliquots taken from each tube of prepared particles/DNA.

Following bombardment, the embryos are incubated on 560P (maintenancemedium) for 12 to 48 hours at temperatures ranging from 26 C to 37 C,and then placed at 26 C. After 5 to 7 days the embryos are transferredto 560R selection medium containing 3 mg/liter Bialaphos, andsubcultured every 2 weeks at 26 C. After approximately 10 weeks ofselection, selection-resistant callus clones are transferred to 288Jmedium to initiate plant regeneration. Following somatic embryomaturation (2-4 weeks), well-developed somatic embryos are transferredto medium for germination and transferred to a lighted culture room.Approximately 7-10 days later, developing plantlets are transferred to272V hormone-free medium in tubes for 7-10 days until plantlets are wellestablished. Plants are then transferred to inserts in flats (equivalentto a 2.5″ pot) containing potting soil and grown for 1 week in a growthchamber, subsequently grown an additional 1-2 weeks in the greenhouse,then transferred to Classic 600 pots (1.6 gallon) and grown to maturity.Plants are monitored and scored for transformation efficiency, and/ormodification of regenerative capabilities.

Initiation medium (560 L) comprises 4.0 g/l N6 basal salts (SIGMAC-1416), 1.0 ml/l Eriksson's Vitamin Mix (1000X SIGMA-1511), 0.5 mg/lthiamine HCl, 20.0 g/l sucrose, 1.0 mg/l 2,4-D, and 2.88 g/l L-proline(brought to volume with D-I H2O following adjustment to pH 5.8 withKOH); 2.0 g/l Gelrite (added after bringing to volume with D-I H2O); and8.5 mg/l silver nitrate (added after sterilizing the medium and coolingto room temperature).

Maintenance medium (560P) comprises 4.0 g/l N6 basal salts (SIGMAC-1416), 1.0 ml/l Eriksson's Vitamin Mix (1000X SIGMA-1511), 0.5 mg/lthiamine HCl, 30.0 g/l sucrose, 2.0 mg/l 2,4-D, and 0.69 g/l L-proline(brought to volume with D-I H2O following adjustment to pH 5.8 withKOH); 3.0 g/l Gelrite (added after bringing to volume with D-I H2O); and0.85 mg/l silver nitrate (added after sterilizing the medium and coolingto room temperature).

Bombardment medium (560Y) comprises 4.0 g/l N6 basal salts (SIGMAC-1416), 1.0 ml/l Eriksson's Vitamin Mix (1000X SIGMA-1511), 0.5 mg/lthiamine HCl, 120.0 g/l sucrose, 1.0 mg/l 2,4-D, and 2.88 g/l L-proline(brought to volume with D-I H2O following adjustment to pH 5.8 withKOH); 2.0 g/l Gelrite (added after bringing to volume with D-I H2O); and8.5 mg/l silver nitrate (added after sterilizing the medium and coolingto room temperature).

-   Selection medium (560R) comprises 4.0 g/l N6 basal salts (SIGMA    C-1416), 1.0 ml/l Eriksson's Vitamin Mix (1000X SIGMA-1511), 0.5    mg/l thiamine HCl, 30.0 g/l sucrose, and 2.0 mg/l 2,4-D (brought to    volume with D-I H2O following adjustment to pH 5.8 with KOH); 3.0    g/l Gelrite (added after bringing to volume with D-I H2O); and 0.85    mg/l silver nitrate and 3.0 mg/l bialaphos (both added after    sterilizing the medium and cooling to room temperature).

Plant regeneration medium (288J) comprises 4.3 g/l MS salts (GIBCO11117-074), 5.0 ml/l MS vitamins stock solution (0.100 g nicotinic acid,0.02 g/l thiamine HCL, 0.10 g/l pyridoxine HCL, and 0.40 g/l glycinebrought to volume with polished D-I H2O) (Murashige and Shoo (1962)Physiol. Plant. 15:473), 100 mg/l myo-inositol, 0.5 mg/l zein, 60 g/lsucrose, and 1.0 ml/l of 0.1 mM abscissa acid (brought to volume withpolished D-I H2O after adjusting to pH 5.6); 3.0 g/l Gelrite (addedafter bringing to volume with D-I H2O); and 1.0 mg/l indole acetic acidand 3.0 mg/l bialaphos (added after sterilizing the medium and coolingto 60° C.). Hormone-free medium (272V) comprises 4.3 g/l MS salts (GIBCO11117-074), 5.0 ml/l MS vitamins stock solution (0.100 g/l nicotinicacid, 0.02 g/l thiamine HCL, 0.10 g/l pyridoxine HCL, and 0.40 g/lglycine brought to volume with polished D-I H2O), 0.1 g/l myo-inositol,and 40.0 g/l sucrose (brought to volume with polished D-I H2O afteradjusting pH to 5.6); and 6 g/l back-agar (added after bringing tovolume with polished D-I H2O), sterilized and cooled to 60° C.

b. Agrobacterium-Mediated Transformation

Agrobacterium-mediated transformation was performed essentially asdescribed in Djukanovic et al. (2006) Plant Biotech J 4:345-57. Briefly,10-12 day old immature embryos (0.8-2.5 mm in size) were dissected fromsterilized kernels and placed into liquid medium (4.0 g/L N6 Basal Salts(Sigma C-1416), 1.0 ml/L Eriksson's Vitamin Mix (Sigma E-1511), 1.0 mg/Lthiamine HCl, 1.5 mg/L 2, 4-D, 0.690 g/L L-proline, 68.5 g/L sucrose,36.0 g/L glucose, pH 5.2). After embryo collection, the medium wasreplaced with 1 ml Agrobacterium at a concentration of 0.35-0.45 OD550.Maize embryos were incubated with Agrobacterium for 5 min at roomtemperature, then the mixture was poured onto a media plate containing4.0 g/L N6 Basal Salts (Sigma C-1416), 1.0 ml/L Eriksson's Vitamin Mix(Sigma E-1511), 1.0 mg/L thiamine HCl, 1.5 mg/L 2, 4-D, 0.690 g/LL-proline, 30.0 g/L sucrose, 0.85 mg/L silver nitrate, 0.1 nMacetosyringone, and 3.0 g/L Gelrite, pH 5.8. Embryos were incubated axisdown, in the dark for 3 days at 20° C., then incubated 4 days in thedark at 28° C., then transferred onto new media plates containing 4.0g/L N6 Basal Salts (Sigma C-1416), 1.0 ml/L Eriksson's Vitamin Mix(Sigma E-1511), 1.0 mg/L thiamine HCl, 1.5 mg/L 2, 4-D, 0.69 g/LL-proline, 30.0 g/L sucrose, 0.5 g/L MES buffer, 0.85 mg/L silvernitrate, 3.0 mg/L Bialaphos, 100 mg/L carbenicillin, and 6.0 g/L agar,pH 5.8. Embryos were subcultured every three weeks until transgenicevents were identified. Somatic embryogenesis was induced bytransferring a small amount of tissue onto regeneration medium (4.3 g/LMS salts (Gibco 11117), 5.0 ml/L MS Vitamins Stock Solution, 100 mg/Lmyo-inositol, 0.1 μM ABA, 1 mg/L IAA, 0.5 mg/L zein, 60.0 g/L sucrose,1.5 mg/L Bialaphos, 100 mg/L carbenicillin, 3.0 g/L Gelrite, pH 5.6) andincubation in the dark for two weeks at 28° C. All material with visibleshoots and roots were transferred onto media containing 4.3 g/L MS salts(Gibco 11117), 5.0 ml/L MS Vitamins Stock Solution, 100 mg/Lmyo-inositol, 40.0 g/L sucrose, 1.5 g/L Gelrite, pH 5.6, and incubatedunder artificial light at 28° C. One week later, plantlets were movedinto glass tubes containing the same medium and grown until they weresampled and/or transplanted into soil.

Example 11 Transient Expression of BBM Enhances Transformation

Parameters of the transformation protocol can be modified to ensure thatthe BBM activity is transient. One such method involves precipitatingthe BBM-containing plasmid in a manner that allows for transcription andexpression, but precludes subsequent release of the DNA, for example, byusing the chemical PEI. In one example, the BBM plasmid is precipitatedonto gold particles with PEI, while the transgenic expression cassette(UBI::moPAT˜GFPm::PinII: moPAT is the maize optimized PAT gene) to beintegrated is precipitated onto gold particles using the standardcalcium chloride method.

Briefly, gold particles were coated with PEI as follows. First, the goldparticles were washed. Thirty-five mg of gold particles, 1.0 in averagediameter (A.S.I. #162-0010), were weighed out in a microcentrifuge tube,and 1.2 ml absolute EtOH was added and vortexed for one minute. The tubewas incubated for 15 minutes at room temperature and then centrifuged athigh speed using a microfuge for 15 minutes at 4oC. The supernatant wasdiscarded and a fresh 1.2 ml aliquot of ethanol (EtOH) was added,vortexed for one minute, centrifuged for one minute, and the supernatantagain discarded (this is repeated twice). A fresh 1.2 ml aliquot of EtOHwas added, and this suspension (gold particles in EtOH) was stored at−20oC for weeks. To coat particles with polyethylimine (PEI; Sigma#P3143), 250 μl of the washed gold particle/EtOH mix was centrifuged andthe EtOH discarded. The particles were washed once in 100 μl ddH2O toremove residual ethanol, 250 μl of 0.25 mM PEI was added, followed by apulse-sonication to suspend the particles and then the tube was plungedinto a dry ice/EtOH bath to flash-freeze the suspension, which was thenlyophilized overnight. At this point, dry, coated particles could bestored at −80oC for at least 3 weeks. Before use, the particles wererinsed 3 times with 250 μl aliquots of 2.5 mM HEPES buffer, pH 7.1, with1× pulse-sonication, and then a quick vortex before each centrifugation.The particles were then suspended in a final volume of 250 μl HEPESbuffer. A 25 μl aliquot of the particles was added to fresh tubes beforeattaching DNA. To attach uncoated DNA, the particles werepulse-sonicated, then 1 μg of DNA (in 5 μl water) was added, followed bymixing by pipetting up and down a few times with a Pipetteman andincubated for 10 minutes. The particles were spun briefly (i.e. 10seconds), the supernatant removed, and 60 μl EtOH added. The particleswith PEI-precipitated DNA-1 were washed twice in 60 μl of EtOH. Theparticles were centrifuged, the supernatant discarded, and the particleswere resuspended in 45 μl water. To attach the second DNA (DNA-2),precipitation using a water-soluble cationic lipid transfection reagentwas used. The 45 μl of particles/DNA-1 suspension was briefly sonicated,and then 5 μl of 100 ng/μl of DNA-2 and 2.5 μl of the water-solublecationic lipid transfection reagent were added. The solution was placedon a rotary shaker for 10 minutes, centrifuged at 10,000 g for 1 minute.The supernatant was removed, and the particles resuspended in 60 μl ofEtOH. The solution was spotted onto macrocarriers and the gold particlesonto which DNA-1 and DNA-2 had been sequentially attached were deliveredinto scutellar cells of 10 DAP Hi-II immature embryos using a standardprotocol for the PDS-1000. For this experiment, the DNA-1 plasmidcontained a UBI::RFP::pinII expression cassette, and DNA-2 contained aUBI::CFP::pinII expression cassette. Two days after bombardment,transient expression of both the CFP and RFP fluorescent markers wasobserved as numerous red & blue cells on the surface of the immatureembryo. The embryos were then placed on non-selective culture medium andallowed to grow for 3 weeks before scoring for stable colonies. Afterthis 3-week period, 10 multicellular, stably-expressing blue colonieswere observed, in comparison to only one red colony. This demonstratedthat PEI-precipitation could be used to effectively introduce DNA fortransient expression while dramatically reducing integration of thePEI-introduced DNA and thus reducing the recovery of RFP-expressingtransgenic events. In this manner, PEI-precipitation can be used todeliver transient expression of BBM and/or WUS2.

For example, the particles are first coated with UBI::BBM::pinII usingPEI, then coated with UBI::moPAT-YFP using a water-soluble cationiclipid transfection reagent, and then bombarded into scutellar cells onthe surface of immature embryos. PEI-mediated precipitation results in ahigh frequency of transiently expressing cells on the surface of theimmature embryo and extremely low frequencies of recovery of stabletransformants Thus, it is expected that the PEI-precipitated BBMcassette expresses transiently and stimulates a burst of embryogenicgrowth on the bombarded surface of the tissue (i.e. the scutellarsurface), but this plasmid will not integrate. The PAT˜GFP plasmidreleased from the Ca++/gold particles is expected to integrate andexpress the selectable marker at a frequency that results insubstantially improved recovery of transgenic events. As a controltreatment, PEI-precipitated particles containing a UBI::GUS::pinII(instead of BBM) are mixed with the PAT˜GFP/Ca++ particles. Immatureembryos from both treatments are moved onto culture medium containing 3mg/l bialaphos. After 6-8 weeks, it is expected that GFP+,bialaphos-resistant calli will be observed in the PEI/BBM treatment at amuch higher frequency relative to the control treatment (PEI/GUS).

As an alternative method, the BBM plasmid is precipitated onto goldparticles with PEI, and then introduced into scutellar cells on thesurface of immature embryos, and subsequent transient expression of theBBM gene elicits a rapid proliferation of embryogenic growth. Duringthis period of induced growth, the explants are treated withAgrobacterium using standard methods for maize (see Example 1), withT-DNA delivery into the cell introducing a transgenic expressioncassette such as UBI::moPAT˜GFPm::pinII. After co-cultivation, explantsare allowed to recover on normal culture medium, and then are moved ontoculture medium containing 3 mg/l bialaphos. After 6-8 weeks, it isexpected that GFP+, bialaphos-resistant calli will be observed in thePEI/BBM treatment at a much higher frequency relative to the controltreatment (PEI/GUS).

It may be desirable to “kick start” callus growth by transientlyexpressing the BBM and/or WUS2 polynucleotide products. This can be doneby delivering BBM and WUS2 5′-capped polyadenylated RNA, expressioncassettes containing BBM and WUS2 DNA, or BBM and/or WUS2 proteins. Allof these molecules can be delivered using a biolistics particle gun. Forexample 5′-capped polyadenylated BBM and/or WUS2 RNA can easily be madein vitro using Ambion's mMessage mMachine kit. RNA is co-delivered alongwith DNA containing a polynucleotide of interest and a marker used forselection/screening such as Ubi::moPAT˜GFPm::PinII. It is expected thatthe cells receiving the RNA will immediately begin dividing more rapidlyand a large portion of these will have integrated the agronomic gene.These events can further be validated as being transgenic clonalcolonies because they will also express the PAT˜GFP fusion protein (andthus will display green fluorescence under appropriate illumination).Plants regenerated from these embryos can then be screened for thepresence of the polynucleotide of interest.

Example 12 DNA Constructs to Test the Guide RNA/Cas Endonuclease Systemfor Soybean Genome Modifications

To test if a guide RNA/Cas endonuclease system, similar to thatdescribed in Example 1 for maize, is functional in a dicot such assoybean, a Cas9 (SO) gene (SEQ ID NO:115) soybean codon optimized fromStreptococcus pyogenes M1 GAS (SF370) was expressed with a strongsoybean constitutive promoter GM-EF1A2 (US patent application20090133159 (SEQ ID NO: 116). A simian vacuolating virus 40 (SV40) largeT-antigen nuclear localization signal (SEQ ID NO:117), representing theamino acid molecules of PKKKRKV (with a linker SRAD (SRADPKKKRKV), wasadded to the carboxyl terminus of the codon optimized Cas9 to facilitatetransporting the codon optimized Cas9 protein (SEQ ID NO:118) to thenucleus. The codon optimized Cas9 gene was synthesized as two pieces byGenScript USA Inc. (Piscataway, N.J.) and cloned in frame downstream ofthe GM-EF1A2 promoter to make DNA construct QC782 shown in FIG. 7 (SEQID NO:119).

Plant U6 RNA polymerase III promoters have been cloned and characterizedfrom such as Arabidopsis and Medicago truncatula (Waibel and Filipowicz,NAR 18:3451-3458 (1990); Li et al., J. Integrat. Plant Biol. 49:222-229(2007); Kim and Nam, Plant Mol. Biol. Rep. 31:581-593 (2013); Wang etal., RNA 14:903-913 (2008)). Soybean U6 small nuclear RNA (snRNA) geneswere identified herein by searching public soybean variety Williams82genomic sequence using Arabidopsis U6 gene coding sequence.Approximately 0.5 kb genomic DNA sequence upstream of the first Gnucleotide of a U6 gene was selected to be used as a RNA polymerase IIIpromoter for example, GM-U6-13.1 promoter (SEQ ID NO:120), to expressguide RNA to direct Cas9 nuclease to designated genomic site. The guideRNA coding sequence was 76 bp long (FIG. 8B) and comprised a 20 bpvariable targeting domain from a chosen soybean genomic target site onthe 5′ end and a tract of 4 or more T residues as a transcriptionterminator on the 3′ end. (SEQ ID NO:121, FIG. 8B). The first nucleotideof the 20 bp variable targeting domain was a G residue to be used by RNApolymerase III for transcription. The U6 gene promoter and the completeguide RNA was synthesized and then cloned into an appropriate vector tomake, for example, DNA construct QC783 shown in FIG. 8A (SEQ ID NO:122).Other soybean U6 homologous genes promoters were similarly cloned andused for small RNA expression.

Since the Cas9 endonuclease and the guide RNA need to form a protein/RNAcomplex to mediate site-specific DNA double strand cleavage, the Cas9endonuclease and guide RNA must be expressed in same cells. To improvetheir co-expression and presence, the Cas9 endonuclease and guide RNAexpression cassettes were linked into a single DNA construct, forexample, QC815 in FIG. 9A (SEQ ID NO:123), which was then used totransform soybean cells to test the soybean optimized guide RNA/Cassystem for genome modification. Similar DNA constructs were made totarget different genomic sites using guide RNAs containing differenttarget sequences.

Example 13 Selection of Soybean Genomic Sites to be Cleaved by the GuideRNA/Cas Endonuclease System

A region of the soybean chromosome 4 (Gm04) was selected to test if thesoybean optimized guide RNA/Cas endonuclease system could recognize,cleave, and mutate soybean chromosomal DNA through imprecisenon-homologous end-joining (NHEJ) repair. Two genomic target sites wereselected one close to a predicted gene Glyma04g39780.1 at 114.13 cMherein named DD20 locus (FIG. 10A) and another close to Glyma04g39550.1at 111.95 cM herein named DD43 locus (FIG. 10B). Each of the 20 bpvariable targeting domain of the guide RNA started with a G residuerequired by RNA polymerase III and was followed in the soybean genome bya 3 bp PAM motif (Table 11). The chromosome positions of the soybeangenomic targets sites in close proximity to the PAM sequences weredetermined by blast searching the public soybean variety Williams82genomic sequence. The soybean genomic target sites DD20CR1(SEQ ID NO:125), DD20CR2 (SEQ ID NO: 126), and DD43CR1 (SEQ ID NO: 127) wereidentified as all unique in soybean genome while a second identical 23bp genomic target site DD43CR2 (SEQ ID NO: 128) was found atGm06:12072339-12072361 so there are two potential cleavage sitestargeted by DD43CR2 guide RNA. Both DD43CR1 and DD43CR2 arecomplementary strand sequences indicated by “c” after the positions.

TABLE 11Soybean genomic target sites for a guide RNA/Cas endonuclease system.Chromosome Positions Designation Genomic Target Sites PAM Gm04,45936311-45936333 DD20CR1 GGAACTGACACACGACATGA TGG 114.13 CM45936324-45936346 DD20CR2 GACATGATGGAACGTGACTA AGG Gm04,45731921-45731943c DD43CR1 GTCCCTTGTACTTGTACGTA CGG 111.95 CM45731895-45731917c DD43CR2 GTATTCTAGAAAAGAGGAAT TGG

Guide RNA expression cassette comprising a variable targeting domaintargeting one of DD20CR1, DD20CR2, DD43CR2 genomic target sites weresimilarly constructed and linked to the soybean Cas9 expression cassetteto make DNA constructs QC817, QC818, and QC816 that are similar to QC815in FIG. 9A (SEQ ID NO:123) except for the 20 bp variable targetingdomain of the guide RNA

Since up to six continuous mismatches in the 5′ regions of the genomictarget site (protospacer) with the 20 bp variable targeting domain canbe tolerated, i.e., a continuous stretch of 14 base pairs between thevariable targeting domain and the crRNA sequence proximate to the PAM isnecessarily enough for efficient targets cleavage any 23 bp genomic DNAsequence following the pattern N(20)NGG can be selected as a target sitefor the guide RNA/Cas endonuclease system. The last NGG is the PAMsequence that should not be included in the 20 bp variable targetingdomain of the guide RNA. If the first N is not endogenously a G residueit must be replaced with a G residue in guide RNA target sequence toaccommodate RNA polymerase III, which should not sacrifice recognitionspecificity of the target site by the guide RNA.

Example 14 Delivery of the Guide RNA/Cas Endonuclease System DNA toSoybean by Transient Transformation

The soybean optimized Cas9 endonuclease and guide RNA expressioncassettes were delivered to young soybean somatic embryos in the form ofembryogenic suspension cultures by particle gun bombardment. Soybeanembryogenic suspension cultures were induced as follows. Cotyledons (˜3mm in length) were dissected from surface sterilized, immature seeds andwere cultured for 6-10 weeks in the light at 26° C. on a Murashige andShoo (MS) media containing 0.7% agar and supplemented with 10 mg/ml2,4-D (2,4-Dichlorophenoxyacetic acid). Globular stage somatic embryos,which produced secondary embryos, were then excised and placed intoflasks containing liquid MS medium supplemented with 2,4-D (10 mg/ml)and cultured in the light on a rotary shaker. After repeated selectionfor clusters of somatic embryos that multiplied as early, globularstaged embryos, the soybean embryogenic suspension cultures weremaintained in 35 ml liquid media on a rotary shaker, 150 rpm, at 26° C.with fluorescent lights on a 16:8 hour day/night schedule. Cultures weresubcultured every two weeks by inoculating approximately 35 mg of tissueinto 35 ml of the same fresh liquid MS medium.

Soybean embryogenic suspension cultures were then transformed by themethod of particle gun bombardment using a DuPont Biolistic™ PDS1000/HEinstrument (Bio-Rad Laboratories, Hercules, Calif.). To 50 μl of a 60mg/ml 1.0 mm gold particle suspension were added (in order): 30 μl of 30ng/μl QC815 DNA fragment U6-13.1:DD43CR1+EF1A2:CAS9 as an example, 20 μlof 0.1 M spermidine, and 25 μl of 5 M CaCl₂. The particle preparationwas then agitated for 3 minutes, spun in a centrifuge for 10 seconds andthe supernatant removed. The DNA-coated particles were then washed oncein 400 μl 100% ethanol and resuspended in 45 μl of 100% ethanol. TheDNA/particle suspension was sonicated three times for one second each.Then 5 μl of the DNA-coated gold particles was loaded on each macrocarrier disk.

Approximately 100 mg of a two-week-old suspension cultures were placedin an empty 60×15 mm Petri dish and the residual liquid removed from thetissue with a pipette. Membrane rupture pressure was set at 1100 psi andthe chamber was evacuated to a vacuum of 28 inches mercury. The tissuewas placed approximately 3.5 inches away from the retaining screen andbombarded once. The tissue clumps were rearranged and bombarded anothertime. Minimum amount of liquid MS media without 2,4-D supplement wasadded to the tissue to prevent the cultures from drying or overgrowing.The 60×15 mm Petri dish was sealed in a 100×25 mm Petri dish containingagar solid MS media to as another measure to keep the tissues fromdrying up. The tissues were harvested seven days after and genomic DNAwas extracted for PCR analysis.

Example 15 Analysis of Guide RNA/Cas Endonuclease System MediatedSite-Specific NHEJ by Deep Sequencing

To evaluate DNA double strand cleavage at a soybean genomic target sitemediated by the guide RNA/Cas endonuclease system, a region ofapproximately 100 bp genomic DNA surrounding the target site wasamplified by PCR and the PCR product was then sequenced to checkmutations at the target site as results of NHEJs. The region was firstamplified by 20 cycles of PCR with Phusion High Fidelity mastermix (NewEngland Biolabs) from 100 ng genomic DNA using gene-specific primersthat also contain adaptors and amplicon-specific barcode sequencesneeded for a second round PCR and subsequence sequence analysis. Forexamples, the first PCR for the four experiments listed in Table 2 weredone using primers DD20-S3 (SEQ ID NO:133)/DD20-A (SEQ ID NO:134),DD20-S4 (SEQ ID NO:135)/DD20-A, DD43-S3 (SEQ ID NO:136)/DD43-A (SEQ IDNO:137) and DD43-S4 (SEQ ID NO:138)/DD43-A. One micro liter of the firstround PCR products was further amplified by another 20 cycles of PCRusing universal primers (SEQ ID NOs:140, 141) with Phusion High Fidelitymastermix. The resulting PCR products were separated on 1.5% agarose geland the specific DNA bands were purified with Qiagen gel purificationspin columns. DNA concentrations were measured with a DNA Bioanalyzer(Agilent) and equal molar amounts of DNA for up to 12 different sampleseach with specific barcode were mixed as one sample for Illumina deepsequencing analysis. Single read 100 nucleotide-length deep sequencingwas performed at a DuPont core facility on a Illumnia's MiSeq PersonalSequencer with a 40% (v/v) spike of PhiX control v3 (Illumina,FC-110-3001) to off-set sequence bias.

Since the genomic target site is located in the middle of the ˜100 bplong PCR amplicon (SEQ ID NOs: 142, 143, 144, 145), the 100nucleotide-length deep sequencing is sufficient to cover the targetssite region. A window of 10 nucleotides centered over the expectedcleavage site, i.e., 3 bp upstream of the PAM, was selected for sequenceanalysis. Only those reads with one or more nucleotide indel arisingwithin the 10 nucleotide window and not found in a similar level innegative controls were classified as NHEJ mutations. NHEJ mutant readsof different lengths but with the same mutation were counted into asingle read and up to 10 most prevalent mutations were visuallyconfirmed to be specific mutations before they were then used tocalculate the % mutant reads based on the total analyzed readscontaining specific barcode and forward primer.

The frequencies of NHEJ mutations revealed by deep sequencing for fourtarget sites DD20CR1, DD20CR2, DD43CR1, DD43CR2 with one RNA polymeraseIII promoter GM-U6-13.1 are shown in Table 2. The visually confirmedmost prevalent NHEJ mutations are shown in FIG. 11A-11D. The mutantsequences in FIG. 11A-11E are listed as SEQ ID NOs:147-201. The top rowis the original reference sequence with the target site sequenceunderlined. Deletions in the mutated sequences are indicated by “---”while additions and replacements are indicated by bold letters. Totalcount of each mutation of different reads is given in the last column.Cas9 nuclease construct only, guide RNA construct only, and no DNAbombardment negative controls were similarly performed and analyzed butdata not shown since no-specific mutations were detected. Other targetssites and guide RNAs were also tested with similar positive results anddata not shown.

TABLE 12 Target site-specific mutations introduced by guide RNA/Casendonuclease mediated NHEJ. Mutant % Experiment DNA reads Total readsMutants U6- QC817 339 710,339 0.048% 13.1:DD20CR1 + EF1A2:CAS9 U6- QC818419 693,483 0.060% 13.1:DD20CR2 + EF1A2:CAS9 U6- QC815 489 682,2070.072% 13.1:DD43CR1 + EF1A2:CAS9 U6- QC816  917** 539,681 0.170%13.1:DD43CR2 + EF1A2:CAS9 **At least the top 15 reads are specificmutations but only the top 10 are counted in the table to be consistentwith other experiments. If all top 15 mutations are counted, the totalMutant reads is 1080 and the % Mutants is 0.200%.

In conclusion, our data indicate that the soybean optimized guideRNA/Cas endonuclease system is able to effectively cleave soybeanendogenous genomic DNA and create imperfect NHEJ mutations at thespecified genomic target sites.

Example 16 The Guide RNA/Cas Endonuclease System Delivers Double-StrandBreaks (DBSs) to the Maize Epsps Locus Resulting in Desired PointMutations

Two maize optimized Cas9 endonucleases were developed and evaluated fortheir ability to introduce a double-strand break at a genomic targetsequence. A first Cas9 endonuclease was as described in FIG. 1A (Example2 and expression cassette SEQ ID NO:5). A second maize optimized Cas9endonuclease (moCas9 endonuclease; SEQ ID NO:192) was supplemented withthe SV40 nuclear localization signal by adding the signal codingsequence to the 5′ end of the moCas9 coding sequence (FIG. 13). Theplant moCas9 expression cassette was subsequently modified by theinsertion of the ST-LS1 intron into the moCas9 coding sequence in orderto enhance its expression in maize cells and to eliminate its expressionin E. coli and Agrobacterium. The maize ubiquitin promoter and thepotato proteinase inhibitor II gene terminator sequences complementedthe moCas9 endonuclease gene designs. The structural elements of themoCas9 expression cassette are shown in FIG. 13 and its amino acid andnucleotide sequences are listed as SEQ ID Nos: 192 and 193.

A single guide RNA (sgRNA) expression cassette was essentially asdescribed in Example 1 and shown in FIG. 1B. It consists of the U6polymerase III maize promoter (SEQ ID NO: 9) and its cognate U6polymerase III termination sequences (TTTTTTTT). The guide RNA (SEQ IDNO: 194) comprised a 20 nucleotide variable targeting domain (nucleotide1-20 of SEQ ID NO: 194) followed by a RNA sequence capable ofinteracting with the double strand break inducing endonuclease.

A maize optimized Cas9 endonuclease target sequence (moCas9 targetsequence) within the EPSPS codon sequence was complementary to the 20nucleotide variable sequence of the guide sgRNA determined the site ofthe Cas9 endonuclease cleavage within the EPSPS coding sequence.

The moCAS9 target sequence (nucleotides 25-44 of SEQ ID NO:209) wassynthesized and cloned into the guide RNA-Cas9 expression vectordesigned for delivery of the components of the guide RNA-Cas9 system tothe BMS (Black Mexican Sweet) cells through Agrobacterium-mediatedtransformation. Agrobacterium T-DNA delivered also the yeast FLPsite-specific recombinase and the WDV (wheat dwarf virus)replication-associated protein (replicase). Since the moCas9 targetsequences were flanked by the FLP recombination targets (FRT), they wereexcised by FLP in maize cells forming episomal (chromosome-like)structures. Such circular DNA fragments were replicated by the WDVreplicase (the origin of replication was embedded into the WDV promoter)allowing their recovery in E.coli cells. If the maize optimizedCas9endonuclease made a double-strand break at the moCas9 target sequence,its repair might produce mutations. The procedure is described in detailin: Lyznik, L. A., Djukanovic, V., Yang, M. and Jones, S. (2012)Double-strand break-induced targeted mutagenesis in plants. In:Transgenic plants: Methods and Protocols (Dunwell, J. M. and Wetten, A.C. eds). New York Heidelberg Dordrecht London: Springer, pp. 399-416.

The guideRNA/Cas endonuclease systems using either one of the maizeoptimized Cas9 endonucleases described herein, generated double-strandbreaks in the moCas9 target sequence (Table 13). Table 13 shows thepercent of the moCas9 target sequences mutagenized in the maize BMScells using the moCas9 endonuclease of SEQ ID NO: 192 or the maizeoptimized cas9 endonuclease described in FIG. 1A and expressed by theexpression cassette of SEQ ID NO:5. Both guideRNA/Cas endonucleasesystems generated double-strand breaks (as judged by the number oftargeted mutagenesis events) ranging from 67 to 84% of the moCas9 targetsequences available on episomal DNA molecules in maize BMS cells. Asample of mutagenized EPSPS target sequences is shown in FIG. 14. Thisobservation indicates that the maize optimized Cas9 endonucleasedescribed herein is functional in maize cells and efficiently generatesdouble-strand breaks at the moCas9 target sequence.

TABLE 13 Percent of the moCas9 target sequences mutagenized in the maizeBMS cells by maize optimized Cas9 endonucleases. # of intact # of # ofmoCas9 moCas9 mutagenized Cas9 target target moCas9 target Percentendonuclease sequences sequences sequences mutagenesis version analyzedrecovered found (%) SEQ ID 81 13 68 84% NO: 193 (FIG. 13) SEQ ID 93 3162 67% NO: 5 (FIG. 1A)

In order to accomplish targeted genome editing of the maize chromosomalEPSPS gene, a polynucleotide modification template which providedgenetic information for editing the EPSPS coding sequence was created(SEQ ID NO:195) and co-delivered with the guide RNA/Cas9 systemcomponents.

As shown in FIG. 12, the polynucleotide modification template comprisedthree nucleotide modifications (indicated by arrows) when compared tothe EPSPS genomic sequence to be edited. These three nucleotidemodifications are referred to as TIPS mutations as these nucleotidemodifications result in the amino acid changes T-102 to 1-102 and P-106to S-106. The first point mutation results from the substitution of theC nucleotide in the codon sequence ACT with a T nucleotide, a secondmutation results from the substitution of the T nucleotide on the samecodon sequence ACT with a C nucleotide to form the isoleucine codon(ATC), the third point mutation results from the substitution of thefirst C nucleotide in the codon sequence CCA with a T nucleotide inorder to form a serine codon, TCA.(FIG. 12). Both codon sequences werelocated within 9 nucleotides of each other as shown in SEQ ID NO: 196:atcgcaatgcggtca. The three nucleotide modifications are shown in bold.The nucleotides between the two codon sequences were homologous to thenon-edited EPSPS gene on the epsps locus. The polynucleotidemodification template further comprised DNA fragments of maize EPSPSgenomic sequence that were used as homologous sequence for the EPSPSgene editing. The short arm of homologous sequence (HR1-FIG. 12) was 810base pairs long and the long arm of homologous sequence (HR2-FIG. 12)was 2,883 base pairs long (SEQ ID NO: 195).

In this example, the EPSPS polynucleotide modification template wasco-delivered using particle gun bombardment as a plasmid (see templatevector 1, FIG. 15) together with the guide sgRNA expression cassette anda maize optimizedCas9 endonuclease expression vector which contained themaize optimized Cas9 endonuclease expression cassette described in FIG.1A (Example 1, SEQ ID NO:5) and also contained a moPAT selectable markergene. Ten to eleven day-old immature embryos were placed, embryo-axisdown, onto plates containing the N6 medium (Table 14) and incubated at28° C. for 4-6 hours before bombardment. The plates were placed on thethird shelf from the bottom in the PDS-1000 apparatus and bombarded at200 psi. Post-bombardment, embryos were incubated in the dark overnightat 28° C. and then transferred to plates containing the N6-2 media for6-8 days at 28° C. The embryos were then transferred to platescontaining the N6-3 media for three weeks, followed by transferring theresponding callus to plates containing the N6-4 media for an additionalthree-week selection. After six total weeks of selection at 28° C., asmall amount of selected tissue was transferred onto the MS regenerationmedium and incubated for three weeks in the dark at 28° C.

TABLE 14 Composition of Culture Media. Cul- ture me- dium Composition N64.0 g/L N₆ Basal Salts (Sigma C-1416; Sigma-Aldrich Co., St. Louis, MO,USA), 1.0 ml/L Ericksson's Vitamin Mix (Sigma E- 1511), 0.5 mg/Lthiamine HCl, 190 g/L sucrose, 1.0 mg/L 2,4- dichlorophenoxyacetic acid(2,4-D), 2.88 g/L L-proline, 8.5 mg/L silver nitrate, 25 mg/Lcefotaxime, and 6.36 g/L Sigma agar at pH 5.8 N6-2 4.0 g/L N₆ BasalSalts (Sigma C-1416), 1.0 ml/L Ericksson's Vitamin Mix (Sigma E-1511),0.5 mg/L thiamine HCl, 20 g/L sucrose, 1.0 mg/L 2,4-D, 2.88 g/LL-proline, 8.5 mg/L silver nitrate, 25 mg/L cefotaxime, and 8.5 g/LSigma agar at pH 5.8 N6-3 4.0 g/L N₆ Basal Salts (Sigma C-1416), 1.0ml/L Ericksson's Vitamin Mix (Sigma E-1511), 0.5 mg/L thiamine HCl, 30g/L sucrose, 1.5 mg/L 2,4-D, 0.69 g/L L-proline, 0.5 g/L 2-(N-morpholino)ethanesulphonic acid (MES) buffer, 0.85 mg/L silver nitrate,5 mg/L glufosinate NH₄, and 8.0 g/L Sigma agar at pH 5.8 N6-4 4.0 g/L N₆Basal Salts (Sigma C-1416), 1.0 ml/L Ericksson's Vitamin Mix (SigmaE-1511), 0.5 mg/L thiamine HCl, 30 g/L sucrose, 1.5 mg/L 2,4-D, 0.69 g/LL-proline, 0.5 g/L MES buffer, 0.85 mg/L silver nitrate, 3 mg/Lbialophos, and 8.0 g/L Sigma agar at pH 5.8 MS 4.3 g/L Murashige andSkoog (MS) salts (Gibco 11117; Gibco, Grand Island, NY), 5.0 ml/L MSVitamins Stock Solution (Sigma M3900), 100 mg/L myo-inositol, 0.1 μmolabscisic acid (ABA), 1 mg/L indoleacetic acid (IAA), 0.5 mg/L zeatin,60.0 g/L sucrose, 3.0 mg/L Bialaphos, and 8.0 g/L Sigma agar at pH 5.6

DNA was extracted by placing callus cell samples, two stainless-steelbeads, and 450 ul of extraction buffer (250 mM NaCl, 200 mM Tris-HCl pH7.4, 25 mM EDTA, 4.2 M Guanidine HCl) into each tube of a Mega titerrack. The rack was shaken in the Genogrinder at 1650 r.p.m. for 60seconds and centrifuged at 3000×g for 20 min at 4° C. Three hundred μlof supernatant was transferred to the wells of the Unifilter 96-well DNABinding GF/F Microplate (770-2810, Whatman, GE Healthcare). The platewas placed on the top of a Multi-well plate vacuum manifold (5017, PallLife Sciences). A vacuum pressure was applied until the wells werecompletely dried. The vacuum filtration procedure was repeated one timewith 100 ul extraction buffer and two times with 250 ul washing buffer(50 mM Tris-HCl pH 7.4, 200 mM NaCl, 70% ethanol). The residual ethanolwas removed by placing the GF/F filter plate on an empty wastecollection plate and centrifuged for 10 min at 3000×g. The DNA waseluted in 100 ul Elution Buffer (10 mM Tris-HCl, pH 8.3) and centrifugedat 3000×g for 1 min. For each sample, four PCR reactions were run. Theyincluded approximately 40 ng genomic DNA, 10 ul REDExtract-N-Amp PCRReadyMix (R4775, Sigma-Aldrich Co.), and 5 picomoles of each primer in atotal volume of 20 ul. Primer combinations for each PCR reaction arelisted in the Table 15.

TABLE 15 Primer combinations for PCR reactions. PCR SEQ ID reactionPrimer sequence NO: PCR product F-E2 CCGAGGAGATCGTGCTGCA 197Template randomly integrated or gene CAATGGCCGCATTGCAGTTC 198editing event F-T CCGAGGAGATCGTGCTGCA 199 Wild-type EPSPS alleleTGACCGCATTGCGATTCCAG 200 H-T TCCAAGTCGCTTTCCAACAGGATC 201TIPS editing event TGACCGCATTGCGATTCCAG 202 F-E3 CCGAGGAGATCGTGCTGCA 203A fragment of the epsps locus for ACCAAGCTGCTTCAATCCGACAAC 204cloning and sequencing

The same PCR reactions were done on five samples of genomic DNA obtainedfrom untransformed maize inbred plantlets. After an initial denaturationat 95° C. for 5 minutes, each PCR amplification was carried out over 35cycles using DNA Engine Tetrad2 Thermal Cycler (BioRad Laboratories,Hercules, Calif.) at 94° C. for 30 sec denaturation, 68° C. for 30 secannealing, and 72° C. for 1 min extension. PCR products F-E2, F-T andH-T were separated in 1% agarose gel at 100 Volts for 45 minutes, with100 bp DNA Ladder (N0467S, NewEngland Biolabs). For sequencing, the F-F3PCR amplified fragments from selected calli were cloned into pCR2.1-TOPO vectors using the TOPO TA Cloning Kit (Invitrogen Corp,Carlsbad, Calif.). DNA sequencing was done with BigDye Terminatorchemistry on ABI 3700 capillary sequencing machines (Applied Biosystems,Foster City, Calif.). Each sample contained about 0.5 ug Topo plasmidDNA and 6.4 pmole primer E3-EPex3 Rev (ACCAAGCTGCTTCAATCCGACAAC, SEQ IDNO: 204). Sequences were analyzed using the Sequencer program.

A sample of thirty one callus events selected on media containingbialophos (the moPAT selectable marker gene was part of the guideRNA-moCas9 expression vector) were screened for the presence of the TIPSpoint mutations. Twenty four events contained the TIPS point mutationsintegrated into genomic DNA (FIG. 16, the F-E2 treatment). Among them,six events showed the PCR amplification product of the chromosomal EPSPSgene with TIPS mutations (FIG. 16, the H-T treatment). The pair of PCRprimers (one that can hybridize to the genomic epsps sequence notpresent in the EPSPS polynucleotide modification template and the otherone binding to the edited EPSPS sequence present in the EPSPSpolynucleotide modification template) distinguished the EPSPS-TIPSediting products from the wild-type epsps alleles or random insertionsof the TIPS mutations. If one EPSPS allele was edited to contain theTIPS substitutions, it should be detected as a DNA fragment originatingfrom the genomic epsps locus, regardless whether the TIPS substitutionswere selected for during the PCR amplification process. The TIPS primerwas replaced with the wild-type EPSPS primer (Table 15, the F-E3 pair ofprimers) and the PCR amplification products were cloned into the TOPOcloning vectors and sequenced. The sequencing data represented a randomsample of the genomic epsps locus sequences in one of the selectedevents (FIG. 17, callus A12 3360.92). FIG. 17 shows that the methoddisclosed herein resulted in the successful nucleotide editing of threenucleotides (FIG. 17 bold) responsible for the TIPS mutations withoutaltering any of the other epsps nucleotides, while the moCas9 targetsequence (the site of guide RNA binding underlined in FIG. 17) was notmutagenized.

Also, the other EPSPS allele was not edited indicating that only oneEPSPS allele was edited in this particular event (FIG. 17, lowersection).

This data further shows that the present disclosure of the use of theguide RNA/Cas system for the gene editing demonstrates the ability torecover gene editing events at a high efficiency of 1 out of fewer than10 selected events.

Example 17 The Guide RNA/Cas Endonuclease System Delivers Double-StrandBreaks to the Maize Epsps Locus Resulting in Maize Plants Containing anEPSPS-TIPS Edited Gene

The EPSPS gene edited events were produced and selected as described inthe Example 16. In short, the EPSPS polynucleotide modification templatewas co-delivered using particle gun bombardment as a plasmid (seetemplate vector 1, FIG. 15) together with the guide RNA expressioncassette and a maize optimized Cas9 endonuclease expression vector whichcontained the maize optimized Cas9 endonuclease expression cassettedescribed in FIG. 1A (Example 1, SEQ ID NO:5) and also contained a moPATselectable marker gene.

After six weeks of selection at 28° C., a small amount of selectedtissue was transferred onto the MS regeneration medium and incubated forthree weeks in the dark at 28° C. After the three week incubationvisible shoots were transferred to plates containing the MS-1 medium andincubated at 26° C. in the light for 1-2 weeks until they were ready tobe sent to a greenhouse and transferred into soil flats. The Ms-1 mediumcontained: 4.3 g/L MS salts (Gibco 11117), 5.0 ml/L MS Vitamins StockSolution (Sigma M3900), 100 mg/L myo-inositol, 40.0 g/L sucrose, and 6.0g/L Back-Agar at pH 5.6.

Using the procedures described above, 390 T0 maize plants were producedoriginating from 3282 embryos, resulting in an overall transformationefficiency of 12%, further indicating that the guide RNA/Cas system usedherein results in low or no toxicity (Table 16).

TABLE 16 Transformation efficiency of the EPSPS editing. # # CalliSelection T0 plants Overall Treatment Embryos selected efficiency to GHEfficiency Particle 3282 489 15% 390 12% bombardment

DNA was extracted from each T0 plantlet 7-10 days after transfer to thegreenhouse and PCR procedures were conducted as described in the Example16 to screen the T0 plants for mutations at the epsps locus.

Seventy two percent of analyzed T0 plants (270/375, Table 17) containedmutagenized EPSPS alleles as determined by the end-point PCR proceduredescribed in the Example 16. Most of the mutations (230/375 or 89%) wereproduced as a result of error-prone non-homologous end joining (NHEJ)while forty T0 plants (40/375 or 11%) contained the TIPS edited EPSPSalleles indicating the involvement of a templated double-strand breakrepair mechanism (Table 17).

TABLE 17 Mutations at the epsps locus. Mutations Gene at the Editing TOPlants epsps Mutation TIPS Rate Transformation Analyzed locus rateediting (TIPS) Particle 375 270 72% 40 11% bombardment

A pair of primers (Table 15, the F-E3 pair of primers) was used toamplify a native, endogenous fragment of the epsps locus containing themoCas6 target sequence and the EPSPS editing site from the genomic DNAof selected T0 plants. The PCR amplification products were cloned intothe TOPO cloning vectors and sequenced as described in Example 16. Thesequencing data represent a random sample of the genomic epsps locussequences from a particular T0 plant (Table 18) and indicate thegenotype of the selected T0 plants. The list of the EPSPS-TIPSallele-containing T0 plants transferred to the pots is presented inTable 18 (a selected set of T0 plants from the original 40TIPS-containing events).

TABLE 18 The epsps locus genotypes observed in T0 plants. TIPS refers toa clone comprising the TIPS edited EPSPS sequence. NHEJ refers to thepresence of a NHEJ mutation and WT refers to the presence of a wild-typeEPSPS sequence amplified from the native epsps locus. Event ObservedSequences found at the (T0 plant) epsps locus E1 16 TIPS, 13 NHEJ E2 28TIPS, 0 NHEJ E3 2 TIPS, 20 WT E4 1 TIPS, 28 NHEJ E5 2 TIPS, 2 NHEJ, 9 WTE6 10 TIPS, 17 NHEJ E7 12 TIPS, 17 NHEJ E8 11 TIPS, 15 NHEJ E9 17 TIPS,10 NHEJ

As presented in Table 18, the selected plants of E1 and E3 to E9contained the EPSPS-TIPS edited version of the EPSPS gene eitheraccompanied by a wild-type EPSPS allele (WT) or a NHEJ mutagenized EPSPSallele (NHEJ). The numbers before TIPS, WT, NHEJ in Table 18 indicatethe frequency at which a particular version of the EPSPS allele wasidentified. If all clones contained the TIPS-edited EPSPS sequence, theanalyzed plant was likely to be homozygous for the EPSPS-TIPS allele(see for example E2). If only about 50% of clones contained aTIPS-edited EPSPS sequence, the analyzed plant was likely to behemizygous for the EPSPS-TIPS allele (see for example E1). Other plants,such as E3 or E4, were likely to be chimeric for TIPS. In one event, E2,the T0 plant contained only TIPS-edited sequence at the epsps locusindicating that the guide RNA/Cas endonuclease system disclosed hereinresulted in the successful nucleotide editing of three nucleotides (FIG.17 bold) responsible for the two EPSPS-TIPS alleles at the epsps locusin maize plants.

A qPCR analysis was performed on the selected T0 plants to estimate thecopy number of the wild-type EPSPS genes and the moCas9 endonucleasesequences. Multiplex qPCR amplifications of the maize EPSPS gene and theADH housekeeping gene were carried out on the DNA samples from T0plants. The primers and probes used in the PCR reaction are shown inTable 19.

TABLE 19 Primers used in qPCR analysis of T0 plants. Primer/probePrimary PCR Primer Sequence SEQ ID NO: primer qADH F5′-CAAGTCGCGGTTTTCAATCA-3 SEQ ID NO: 217 Primer qADH R5′-TGAAGGTGGAAGTCCCAACAA-3′ SEQ ID NO: 218 probe ADH-VICVIC-TGGGAAGCCTATCTACCAC SEQ ID NO: 219 Probe wtEPSPS6FAM-CGGCCATTGACAGCA-MGB-NFQ SEQ ID NO: 220 Forward primer5′-TCTTGGGGAATGCTGGAACT-3′ ,SEQ ID NO: 221 qEPSPS F reverse primer5′-CACCAGCAGCAGTAACAGCTG-3′ SEQ ID NO: 222 qEPSPSR FAM-wtEPSPS6FAM-TGCTGTCAATGGCCGCA SEQ ID NO: 223 R probe forward primer5′-TCTTGGGGAATGCTGGAACT-3′ SEQ ID NO: 224 qEPSPS F reverse primer5′-CCACCAGCAGCAGTAACAGC-3 SEQ ID NO: 225) qwtEPSPS RA

All analyses were conducted using the LightCycler 480 Real-Time PCRSystem (Roche Diagnostics). A threshold value for the wtEPSPS genotypewas set at 1.76. Every sample showing less than 1.76 copies of EPSPS,with the end-point florescence measurements up to two times lower thanthe wild-type control, was categorized as the One Allele EPSPS genotype(hemizygous for the wild-type EPSPS allele).

A qPCR method was used to estimate the TIPS sequence copy number. Theprimers and probes used in the qPCR reaction are shown in Table 20.

TABLE 20Primers used in qPCR analysis to estimate the TIPS sequence copy number.Primer/probe Primary PCR Primer Sequence SEQ ID NO: forward primer5′-GGAAGTGCAGCTCTTCTTGGG-3′ SEQ ID NO: 226 qepTIPS F reverse primer5′-AGCTGCTGTCAATGACCGC-3′ SEQ ID NO: 227 qepTIPS R TIPS probe6FAM-AATGCTGGAATCGCA SEQ ID NO: 228)

A comparative Ct method with Delta Ct values normalized to the averageDelta Ct from the bi-allelic TIPS genotypes provided a copy numberestimation for the TIPS sequence detected in the analyzed plant samples.

TABLE 21 qPCR genotyping and copy number of selected T0 plants. TIPSWild-type moCas9 EPSPS EPSPS coding Event name allele allele # TIPS copy# sequence E1 positive Null 5 positive E2 positive Null 2 positive E7positive Null 6 positive E8 positive Null 1 positive E9 positive Null 3positive

The qPCR genotyping indicated that no wild-type EPSPS alleles weredetected in the selected T0 plants of Events E1, E2, E7, E8 and E9(Table 21). Both, the TIPS template sequences and the moCas9 codingsequence were found in the selected T0 plants, presumably, as a resultof random insertions associated with the transformation process (Table21: for the TIPS template sequences E1, E7, and E9 T0 plants). Bothgenetic elements (the randomly inserted TIPS templates and the moCas9expression cassette) can be segregated out by standard breedingprocedures in the T1 progeny generation, if not linked to the editedEPSPS-TIPS gene.

T0 plants grew well in the greenhouse and were fertile. A sample of T0plants was sprayed with a 1× dose of glyphosate (Roundup Powermax) at V3growth stage using the spray booth setting of 20 gallons per acre. The1X dose of glyphosate was prepared as follow: 2.55 ml Powermax in 300 mlwater (active ingredient: glyphosate, N-(phosphonomethyl) glycine, inthe form of its potassium salt at 48.7%). Seven days after glyphosateapplication, no leaf tissue damage was observed in some of the T0plants. These plantlets were hemizygous for the EPSPS-TIPS alleles,while other plantlets were severely damaged. One plant showing no damageto the leaf tissue 14 days after herbicide application contained 21EPSPS-TIPS alleles among 44 genomic clones of the epsps locus (clonedand sequenced as described in the Example 16).

These data indicate that a guide RNA/Cas system can be used to create aTIPS-edited EPSPS allele in maize. Maize plants homozygous at theepsps-tips locus (two EPSPS alleles edited) with no additional insertionof the TIPS template (plant E2) were obtained. Furthermore, someEPSPS-TIPS edited maize plants did show some level of tolerance againsta 1× dose of glyphosate.

Example 18 Guide RNA/Cas Endonuclease Mediated DNA Cleavage in MaizeChromosomal Loci Enables Transgene Insertion in an Elite Maize Line

To test whether a maize optimized guide RNA/Cas system can cleave anmaize chromosomal locus and enable homologous recombination (HR)mediated pathways to site-specifically insert a transgene in an elitemaize line, 4 loci were selected on the maize chromosome 1 locatedbetween 51.54 cM to 54.56 cM (FIG. 18). Two target sites for a Casendonuclease were identified at each of the four loci and are referredto as MHP14Cas-1, MHP14Cas-3, TS8Cas-1, TS8Cas2, TS9Cas-2, TS9Cas-3,TS10Cas-1 and TS10Cas-3 (FIG. 19, Table 22, SEQ ID NOs:229-236).

TABLE 22Maize genomic target sites targeted by a guide RNA/Cas endonuclease.Maize Genomic Target SEQ ID Locus Location Target Site Site Sequence PAMNO: MHP14 Chr.1: MHP14Cas-1 gttaaatctgacgtgaatctgtt TGG 229 51.54cMMHP14Cas-3 acaaacattgaagcgacatag TGG 230 TS8 Chr.1: TS8Cas-1gtacgtaacgtgcagtac TGG 231 52.56cM TS8Cas-2 gctcatcagtgatcagctgg TGG 232TS9 Chr.1: TS9Cas-2 ggctgtttgcggcctcg AGG 233 53.56cM TS9Cas-3gcctcgaggttgcacgcacgt CGG 234 TS10 Chr.1: TS10Cas-1 gcctcgccttcgctagttaaGGG 235 54.56cM TS10Cas-3 gctcgtgttggagataca GGG 236

The maize optimized Cas endonuclease cassette (SEQ ID NO: 5 was asprepared as describe in Example 1. Long guide RNA expression cassettescomprising a variable targeting domain targeting one of the 8 genomictarget sites, driven by a maize U6 polymerase III promoter, andterminated by a maize U6 polymerase III terminator were designed asdescribed in Example 1 and 3 and listed in Table 23. A donor DNA (HRrepair DNA) containing a selectable marker (a phosphomannose-isomerase(PMI) expression cassette) flanked by two homologous regions wasconstructed using standard molecular biology techniques (FIG. 20).

TABLE 23 List of guide RNA (gRNA) and Donor DNA expression cassettesDonor DNA gRNA (SEQ ID Locus Target Site (SEQ ID NO:) NO:) MHP14MHP14Cas-1 245 253 MHP14Cas-3 246 254 TS8 TS8Cas-1 247 255 TS8Cas-2 248256 TS9 TS9Cas-2 249 257 TS9Cas-3 250 258 TS10 TS10Cas-1 251 259TS10Cas-3 252 260

A vector containing the maize optimized Cas9 endonuclease of SEQ ID NO:5, a vector containing one of eight long guide RNA expression cassettesof SEQ ID NOs: 245-252, and a vector containing one of eight donor DNAsof SEQ ID NOs: 253-260 were co-delivered to maize elite line immatureembryos by particle-mediated delivery as described in Example 10. About1000 embryos were bombarded for each target site. Since the donor DNAcontained a selectable marker, PMI, successful delivery of the donor DNAallowed for callus growth on mannose media. Putative HR-mediatedtransgenic insertions were selected by placing the callus on mannosecontaining media. After selection, stable shoots on maturation plateswere sampled, total genomic DNA extracted, and using the primer pairsshown in Table 24 (corresponding to SEQ ID NOs: 261-270), PCRamplification was carried out at both possible transgene genomic DNAjunctions to identify putative HR-mediated transgenic insertions.

TABLE 24 Primer sequences used for integration event screening at eachtarget site. SEQ ID Locus Target Site Junction Primer NO: UBIR donor 1CCATGTCTAACTGTTCATTTATATGA 261 TTCTCT PSBF donor 2GCTCGTGTCCAAGCGTCACTTACGA 262 TTAGCT MHP14 MHP14Cas-1 14-1HR1fCTCACATGAGGCTCTTCTTTGCTTG 263 MHP14Cas-3 CT 14-1HR2rAGGATCCTATTCCCCAATTTGTAGAT 264 CHR1-8 TS8Cas-1 8HR1fCAGTCCGTGGATTGAAGCCAT 265 TS8Cas-2 8HR2r CTCTGTCTCCGAGACGTGCTTA 266CHR1-9 TS9Cas-2 9HR1f GGAGCAAATGTTTTAGGTATGAAAT 267 TS9Cas-3 G 9HR2rCGGATTCTAAAGATCATACGTAAAT 268 GAA CHR1-10 TS10Cas-1 10HR1fTGGCTTGTCTATGCGCATCTC 269 TS10Cas-3 10HR2r CCAGACCCAAACAGCAGGTT 270The same genomic primers were used for each of the two target sites atone locus. The resulting amplifications were sequenced to determine ifthese sites were mutated or contained a transgene insertion.

The “Event Recovery frequency” was calculated using the number of eventsrecovered divided by the total number of embryos bombarded, and mayindicate if an endonuclease has some toxic effect or not (Table 26).Hence, if 1000 embryos were bombarded and 240 were recovered, the EventRecovery frequency is 24%. Table 26 indicates that for all target sitesanalyzed the Event Recovery frequency ranged between 17 and 28%,indicating that the guide RNA/Cas system used herein results in low orno toxicity. Cas endonuclease activity was measured in-planta bydetermining the “Target Site Mutation frequency”(Table 26) is definedas: (number of events with target site modification/total numberrecovered events)*100%. Hence, if 240 events were recovered and 180events showed a mutation, the Target Site Mutation frequency is 75%. Thetarget site mutation frequency was measured using target site allelecopy number as described in Example 9 of U.S. application Ser. No.13/886,317, filed on May 3, 2013. The primers and probes for obtainingthe target site copy number using qPCR at each site were as listed inTable 25 (SEQ ID NO: 271-294).

TABLE 25 Primer and probe sequences used to assess DNA cleavage at8 maize genomic target sites SEQ Target Site Probe ID Designationprimers Primer sequence NO: MHP14Cas-1 probe CAGATTCACGTCAGATTT 271forward CATAGTGGTGTATGAAAGGAAGCACTT 272 reverseCATTTTGGATTGTAATATGTGTACCTCATA 273 MHP14Cas-3 probe CACCACTATGTCGCTTC274 forward CGGATGCACGAAAATTGTAGGA 275 reverse CTGACGTGAATCTGTTTGGAATTG276 TS8Cas-1 probe TACGTAACGTGCAGTACT 277 forward ACGGACGGACCATACGTTATG278 reverse TCAGCTGGTGGAGTATATTAGTTCGT 279 TS8Cas-2 probeCCAGCTGATCACTGATGA 280 forward ACGGACGGACCATACGTTATG 281 reverseCGCACATGTTATAAATTACAATGCAT 282 TS9Cas-2 probe CTGTTTGCGGCCTC 283 forwardCTGCGGAGCTGCTGGCGAT 284 reverse CTTGCTGGCTTCGTCTGTCA 285 TS9Cas-3 probeCCGACGTGCGTGCAA 286 forward CTGCGGAGCTGCTGGCGAT 287 reverseCTTGCTGGCTTCGTCTGTCA 288 TS10Cas-1 probe TCGCCTTCGCTAGTTAA 289 forwardAAGACCTGGCCGGTTTTCCA 290 reverse TAGCGGCCATTGCCATCA 291 TS10Cas-3 probeCTGTATCTCCAACACGAGC 292 forward AAGACCTGGCCGGTTTTCCA 293 reverseTAGCGGCCATTGCCATCA 294

As shown in Table 26, all 8 guide RNA/Cas9 systems were very efficientin cleaving their target DNA and inducing mutations (by non-homologousend joining (NHEJ) as is evidenced by a mutation frequency ranging from33-90%.

All events were also screened for the presence of an inserted transgene.The insertion event screening for each target site is illustrated inFIG. 21. The primers used for insertion PCR analysis at each site arelisted in Table 24. FIG. 22 shows one example of an insertion eventscreening PCR result. The frequency of transgene insertion wasdetermined by calculating the “Insertion frequency” which is defined as:(number of events with target site insertion/total number recoveredevents)*100%. Hence, if 240 events were recovered and 21 events showed atransgene insertion, the Insertion frequency was 9%.

TABLE 26 Activity of the guide RNA/Cas 9 system at 8 target sites asdetermined by target site mutation frequency and transgene insertionfrequency at the desired target site in maize plant tissue InsertionTarget Site Mutation frequency Target Site Event Recovery (%) (%) (%)TS10Cas-1 24% 75% 9% (7*) TS10Cas-3 22% 83% 16% (20*) TS8Cas-1 17% 90%14% (9*)  TS8Cas-2 27% 84%  8% (10*) MHP14Cas-1 17% 33% 2% (2*)MHP14Cas-3 28% 68% 4% (1*) TS9Cas-2 23% 62% 8%** TS9Cas-3 28% 84% 8%***Number of events with HR1 and HR2 both junctions positive **only HR2junction available

Sequence-confirmed-PCR amplifications indicated a site-specifictransgene insertion for each of the 8 target sites as shown in Table 26(column Insertion frequency). A transgene cassette was inserted at all 8target sites with high efficiency (2-16%). The number of eventscontaining amplifications across both transgene genomic DNA junctions,indicating near perfect site-specific transgene insertion, are show inbrackets in Table 26.

Taken together, these data demonstrates that maize chromosomal locicleaved with the maize optimized guide RNA/Cas system described hereincan be used to insert transgenes at high frequencies in maize eliteinbred line.

Example 19 Delivery of the Guide RNA/Cas9 Endonuclease System DNA toSoybean by Stable Transformation

A soybean U6 small nuclear RNA promoter (GM-U6-9.1; SEQ ID NO: 295) wasidentified in a similar manner as the soybean promoter GM-U6-13.1 (SEQID NO:120) described in Example 12. The GM-U6-9.1 promoter was used toexpress guide RNA to direct Cas9 nuclease to designated genomic targetsite.

A soybean codon optimized Cas9 endonuclease expression cassette (such asfor example EF1A2:CAS9, SEQ ID NO: 296) and a guide RNA expressioncassette (such as for example U6-9.1:DD20CR1; SEQ ID NO: 297) werelinked (such as U6-9.1: DD20CR1+ EF1A2:CAS9; SEQ ID NO: 298, FIG. 23A)and integrated into a DNA plasmid that was co-delivered with anotherplasmid comprising a donor DNA (repair DNA) cassette (such asDD20HR1-SAMS:HPT-DD20HR2; SEQ ID NO: 299) to young soybean somaticembryos in the form of embryogenic suspension cultures by particle gunbombardment (FIGS. 23A and 23B). Other guide RNA/Cas9 DNA constructstargeting various soybean genomic sites and donor DNA constructs forsite-specific transgene integration through homologous recombinationwere similarly configured and are listed in Table 27. The four gRNA/Cas9constructs differed only in the 20 bp guide RNA targeting domain(variable targeting domain) targeting the soybean genomic target sitesDD20CR1 (SEQ ID NO: 125), DD20CR2 (SEQ ID NO: 126), DD43CR1 (SEQ ID NO:127), or DD43CR2 (SEQ ID NO: 128). The two donor DNA constructs differedonly in the homologous regions such as DD20HR1 and DD20HR (FIG. 23B), orDD43HR1 and DD43HR2. These guide RNA/Cas9 DNA constructs and donor DNAswere co-delivered to an elite (93B86) or a non-elite (Jack) soybeangenome by the stable transformation procedure described below.

TABLE 27 Guide RNA/Cas9 Mediated Soybean Stable Transformation. SEQ IDExperiment Guide RNA/Cas9 Donor DNA NOs: U6-9.1DD20CR1 U6-9.1:DD20CR1 +EF1A2:CAS9 DD20HR1-SAMS:HPT-DD20HR2 298, 299 U6-9.1DD20CR2U6-9.1:DD20CR2 + EF1A2:CAS9 DD20HR1-SAMS:HPT-DD20HR2 300, 299U6-9.1DD43CR1 U6-9.1:DD43CR1 + EF1A2:CAS9 DD43HR1-SAMS:HPT-DD43HR2 301,302 U6-9.1DD43CR2 U6-9.1:DD43CR2 + EF1A2:CAS9 DD43HR1-SAMS:HPT-DD43HR2303, 302

Soybean somatic embryogenic suspension cultures were induced from aDuPont Pioneer proprietary elite cultivar 93B86 as follows. Cotyledons(˜3 mm in length) were dissected from surface sterilized, immature seedsand were cultured for 6-10 weeks in the light at 26° C. on a Murashigeand Shoo (MS) media containing 0.7% agar and supplemented with 10 mg/ml2,4-D (2,4-Dichlorophenoxyacetic acid). Globular stage somatic embryos,which produced secondary embryos, were then excised and placed intoflasks containing liquid MS medium supplemented with 2,4-D (10 mg/ml)and cultured in light on a rotary shaker. After repeated selection forclusters of somatic embryos that multiplied as early, globular stagedembryos, the soybean embryogenic suspension cultures were maintained in35 ml liquid media on a rotary shaker, 150 rpm, at 26° C. withfluorescent lights on a 16:8 hour day/night schedule. Cultures weresubcultured every two weeks by inoculating approximately 35 mg of tissueinto 35 ml of the same fresh liquid MS medium.

Soybean embryogenic suspension cultures were then transformed by themethod of particle gun bombardment using a DuPont Biolistic™ PDS1000/HEinstrument (Bio-Rad Laboratories, Hercules, Calif.). To 50 μl of a 60mg/ml 1.0 mm gold particle suspension were added in order: 30 μl ofequal amount (30 ng/μl) plasmid DNA comprising, for example,U6-9.1:DD20CR1+EF1A2:CAS9 (SEQ ID NO:298) and plasmid DNA comprising,for example, (DD20HR1-SAMS:HPT-DD20HR2, SEQ ID NO: 299) (ExperimentU6-9.1 DD20CR1 listed in Table 27) 20 μl of 0.1 M spermidine, and 25 μlof 5 M CaCl₂. The particle preparation was then agitated for 3 minutes,spun in a centrifuge for 10 seconds and the supernatant removed. TheDNA-coated particles were then washed once in 400 μl 100% ethanol andresuspended in 45 μl of 100% ethanol. The DNA/particle suspension wassonicated three times for one second each. Then 5 μl of the DNA-coatedgold particles was loaded on each macro carrier disk.

Approximately 300-400 mg of a two-week-old suspension culture was placedin an empty 60×15 mm Petri dish and the residual liquid removed from thetissue with a pipette. For each transformation experiment, approximately5 to 10 plates of tissue were bombarded. Membrane rupture pressure wasset at 1100 psi and the chamber was evacuated to a vacuum of 28 inchesmercury. The tissue was placed approximately 3.5 inches away from theretaining screen and bombarded once. Following bombardment, the tissuewas divided in half and placed back into liquid media and cultured asdescribed above.

Five to seven days post bombardment, the liquid media was exchanged withfresh media containing 30 mg/ml hygromycin as selection agent. Thisselective media was refreshed weekly. Seven to eight weeks postbombardment, green, transformed tissue was observed growing fromuntransformed, necrotic embryogenic clusters. Isolated green tissue wasremoved and inoculated into individual flasks to generate new, clonallypropagated, transformed embryogenic suspension cultures. Each clonallypropagated culture was treated as an independent transformation eventand subcultured in the same liquid MS media supplemented with 2,4-D (10mg/ml) and 30 ng/ml hygromycin selection agent to increase mass. Theembryogenic suspension cultures were then transferred to agar solid MSmedia plates without 2,4-D supplement to allow somatic embryos todevelop. A sample of each event was collected at this stage forquantitative PCR analysis.

Cotyledon stage somatic embryos were dried-down (by transferring theminto an empty small Petri dish that was seated on top of a 10 cm Petridish containing some agar gel to allow slow dry down) to mimic the laststages of soybean seed development. Dried-down embryos were placed ongermination solid media and transgenic soybean plantlets wereregenerated. The transgenic plants were then transferred to soil andmaintained in growth chambers for seed production.

Transgenic events were sampled at somatic embryo stage or T0 leaf stagefor molecular analysis.

Similar transformation experiments (U6-9.1 DD20CR2, U6-9.1 DD43CR1,U6-9.1 DD43CR2) with the components listed in Table 27 and using theelite cultivar 93B86 were performed as described above.

Two transformation experiments, U6-9.1 DD20CR1 and U6-9.1 DD43CR1 listedin Table 27, were also performed in a non-elite soybean cultivar “Jack”to test the gRNA/Cas9 system performance in different soybean genotypes.

Example 20 Detection of Site-Specific NHEJ Mediated by the GuideRNA/Cas9 System in Stably Transformed Soybean

Genomic DNA was extracted from somatic embryo samples and analyzed byquantitative PCR using a 7500 real time PCR system (Applied Biosystems,Foster City, Calif.) with target site-specific primers and FAM-labeledfluorescence probe to check copy number changes of the target site DD20or DD43 (FIG. 24A-C). The qPCR analysis was done in duplex reactionswith a heat shock protein (HSP) gene as the endogenous controls and awild type 93B86 genomic DNA sample that contains one copy of the targetsite with 2 alleles, as the single copy calibrator. The HSP endogenouscontrol qPCR employed primer probe set HSP-F/HSP-T/HSP-R. The DD20-CR1(SEQ ID NO:306) and DD20-CR2 (SEQ ID NO:307) specific qPCR employedprimer probe set DD20-F (SEQ ID NO:308)/DD20-T(SEQ ID NO:309)/DD20-R(SEQID NO:310). The DD43-CR1 (SEQ ID NO:311) specific qPCR employed primerprobe set DD43-F(SEQ ID NO:313)/DD43-T(SEQ ID NO:315)/DD43-R (SEQ IDNO:316) while the DD43-CR2 (SEQ ID NO:312) specific qPCR employed primerprobe set DD43-F2(SEQ ID NO:314)/DD43-T/DD43-R. The guide RNA/Cas9 DNA(SEQ ID NOs: 298, 300, 301, and 303) specific qPCR employed primer probeset Cas9-F (SEQ ID NO:317/Cas9-T(SEQ ID NO:318)/Cas-9-R(SEQ ID NO:319).The donor DNA (SEQ ID NOS: 299, and 302) specific qPCR employed primerprobe set Sams-76F (SEQ ID NO:320)/FRT1I63-T (SEQ ID NO:321)/FRT1I-41F(SEQ ID NO:322). The endogenous control probe HSP-T was labeled with VICand the gene-specific probes DD20-T, DD43-T, Cas9-T, and FRT1I63-T werelabeled with FAM for the simultaneous detection of both fluorescentprobes (Applied Biosystems). PCR reaction data were captured andanalyzed using the sequence detection software provided with the 7500real time PCR system and the gene copy numbers were calculated using therelative quantification methodology (Applied Biosystems).

Since the wild type 93B86 genomic DNA with two alleles of the targetsite was used as the single copy calibrator, events without any changeof the target site would be detected as one copy herein termed Wt-Homo(qPCR value>=0.7), events with one allele changed, which is no longerdetectible by the target site-specific qPCR, would be detected as halfcopy herein termed NHEJ-Hemi (qPCR value between 0.1 and 0.7), whileevents with both alleles changed would be detected as null herein termedNHEJ-Null (qPCR value=<0.1). The wide range of the qPCR values suggestedthat most of the events contained mixed mutant and wild type sequencesof the target site. High percentage of NHEJ-Hemi (ranging from 10.1 to33.5%, Table 28) and NHEJ-Null (ranging from 32.3 to 46.4%, Table 21)were detected in all four experiments with combined NHEJ averagefrequencies of more than 60% (Table 28).

TABLE 28 Target Site Mutations and Site Specific Gene IntegrationInduced by the Guide RNA/Cas9 system in elite soybean germplasm. Numbersindicate no. of events (numbers in parentheses are %). Wt-Homo NHEJ-NHEJ-Null Insertion Project Total event (%) Hemi (%) (%) Frequency (%)U6-9.1DD20CR1 239 85 (35.6%) 77 (32.2%)  77 (32.2%) 11 (4.6%)U6-9.1DD20CR2 79 43 (54.4%)  8 (10.1%)  28 (35.4%) NA U6-9.1DD43CR1 26353 (20.2%) 88 (33.5%) 122 (46.4%) 10 (3.8%) NA = not analyzed.

TABLE 29 Target Site Mutations and Site Specific Gene Inegration Inducedby the Guide RNA/Cas9 system in non-elite soybean germplasm. Numbersindicate no. of events (numbers in parentheses are % of the totalanalyzed events). Total Wt-Homo NHEJ- NHEJ-Null Insertion Project event(%) Hemi (%) (%) frequency (%) U6-9.1DD20CR1-Jack 149 99 (66.4%) 34(22.8%) 16 (10.7%) 0 (0%)   U6-9.1DD43CR1-Jack 141 84 (59.6%) 27 (19.1%)30 (21.3%) 1 (0.7%)

Both NHEJ-Hemi and NHEJ-Null were detected in the two experimentsU6-9.1DD20CR1-Jack and U6-9.1DD43CR1-Jack repeated in “Jack” genotypethough at lower frequencies (Table 29). The differences between NHEJfrequencies were likely caused by variations between transformationexperiments.

The target region of NHEJ-Null events were amplified by regular PCR fromthe same genomic DNA samples using DD20-LB (SEQ ID NO: 323) and DD20-RB(SEQ ID NO: 326) primers specific respectively to DD20-HR1 and DD20-HR2for DD20 target site specific HR1-HR2 PCR amplicon (FIG. 25A-C; SEQ IDNO: 329), or DD43-LB (SEQ ID NO: 327) and DD43-RB (SEQ ID NO: 328)primers specific respectively to DD43-HR1 and DD43-HR2 for DD43 targetsite specific HR1-HR2 PCR amplicon (SEQ ID NO: 332). The PCR bands werecloned into pCR2.1 vector using a TOPO-TA cloning kit (Invitrogen) andmultiple clones were sequenced to check for target site sequence changesas the results of NHEJ. Various small deletions at the Cas9 cleavagesite, 3 bp upstream of the PAM, were revealed at all four tested targetsites (FIG. 26A-C). Small insertions were also detected in somesequences. Different mutated sequences were identified from some of thesame events indicating the chimeric nature of these events. Some of thesame mutated sequences were also identified from different eventssuggesting that the same mutations could have happened independently orsome of the events could be clonal events. These sequence analysisconfirmed the occurrence of NHEJ mediated by the guide RNA/Cas9 systemat the specific Cas9 target sites.

Example 21 Identification of Site-Specific Gene Integration ViaHomologous Recombination Mediated by the Guide RNA/Cas9 System in StablyTransformed Soybean

Site-specific gene integration via guide RNA/Cas9 system mediated DNAhomologous recombination was determined by border-specific PCR analysis.The 5′ end borders of DD20CR1 and DD20CR2 events were amplified as a1204 bp DD20 HR1-SAMS PCR amplicon (SEQ ID NO: 330) by PCR with primersDD20-LB (SEQ ID NO: 323) and Sams-A1 (SEQ ID NO: 324) while the 3′borders of the same events were amplified as a 1459 bp DD20 NOS-HR2 PCRamplicon (SEQ ID NO: 331) with primers QC498A-S1 and DD20-RB (FIG.25A-C). Any events with both the 5′ border and 3′ border-specific bandsamplified are considered as site-specific integration events throughhomologous recombination containing the transgene from the donor DNAfragment DD20HR1-SAMS:HPT-DD20HR2or its circular form (FIG. 23). The 5′end borders of DD43CR1 and DD43CR2 events were amplified as a 1202 bpDD43 HR1-SAMS PCR amplicon (SEQ ID NO: 333) by PCR with primers DD43-LBand Sams-A1 while the 3′ borders of the same events were amplified as a1454 bp DD43 NOS-HR2 PCR amplicon (SEQ ID NO: 334) with primersQC498A-S1 (SEQ ID NO: 325) and DD43-RB (SEQ ID NO: 328). Any events withboth the 5′ border and 3′ border-specific bands amplified are consideredas site-specific integration events through homologous recombinationcontaining the transgene from repair DNA fragmentDD43HR1-SAMS:HPT-DD43HR2or its circular form. Some of theborder-specific PCR fragments were sequenced and were all confirmed tobe recombined sequences as expected from homologous recombination. Onaverage, gene integration through the guide RNA/Cas9 mediated homologousrecombination occurred at approximately 4% of the total transgenicevents (Insertion frequency, Table 28 and Table 29). One homologousrecombination event was identified from experiment U6-9.1 DD43CR1-Jackrepeated in “Jack” genotype (Table 29).

Example 22 The crRNA/tracrRNA/Cas Endonuclease System CleavesChromosomal DNA in Maize and Introduces Mutations by ImperfectNon-Homologous End-Joining

To test whether the maize optimized crRNA/tracrRNA/Cas endonucleasesystem described in Example 1 could recognize, cleave, and mutate maizechromosomal DNA through imprecise non-homologous end-joining (NHEJ)repair pathways, three different genomic target sequences were targetedfor cleavage (see Table 30) and examined by deep sequencing for thepresence of NHEJ mutations.

TABLE 30 Maize genomic target sequences targeted by a crRNA/tracrRNA/Casendonuclease system. Cas RNA System Target Site Maize Genomic Site PAMSEQ ID Locus Location Used Designation Target Sequence Sequence NO: LIGChr.2. crRNA/ LIGCas-1 GTACCGTACGTGCCCCGGCG AGG 16 28.45cM tracrRNA GcrRNA/ LIGCas-2 GGAATTGTACCGTACGTGCC CGG 17 tracrRNA C crRNA/ LIGCas-3GCGTACGCGTACGTGTG AGG 18 tracrRNALIG=Liguleless 1 Gene Promoter

The maize optimized Cas9 endonuclease expression cassette, crRNAexpression cassettes containing the specific maize variable targetingdomains (SEQ ID NOs: 445-447) complementary to the antisense strand ofthe maize genomic target sequences listed in Table 30 and tracrRNAexpression cassette (SEQ ID NO: 448) were co-delivered to 60-90 Hi-IIimmature maize embryos by particle-mediated delivery (see Example 5) inthe presence of BBM and WUS2 genes (see Example 6). Hi-II maize embryostransformed with the Cas9 and long guide RNA expression cassettestargeting the LIGCas-3 genomic target site (SEQ ID NO: 18) for cleavageserved as a positive control and embryos transformed with only the Cas9expression cassette served as a negative control. After 7 days, the20-30 most uniformly transformed embryos from each treatment were pooledand total genomic DNA was extracted. The region surrounding the intendedtarget site was PCR amplified with Phusion® High Fidelity PCR Master Mix(New England Biolabs, M0531L) adding on the sequences necessary foramplicon-specific barcodes and Illumnia sequencing using “tailed”primers through two rounds of PCR. The primers used in the primary PCRreaction are shown in Table 31 and the primers used in the secondary PCRreaction were AATGATACGGCGACCACCGAGATCTACACTCTTTCCCTACACG (forward, SEQID NO: 53) and CAAGCAGAAGACGGCATA (reverse, SEQ ID NO: 54).

TABLE 31 PCR primer sequences Cas RNA Primer Target System Orien-Primary SEQ ID Site Used tation PCR Primer Sequence NO: LIGCas-1 crRNA/Forward CTACACTCTTTCCCTACACGACGCTCTTC  36 tracrRNACGATCTTCCTCTGTAACGATTTACGCACC TGCTG LIGCas-1 crRNA/ ReverseCAAGCAGAAGACGGCATACGAGCTCTTC  35 tracrRNA CGATCTGCAAATGAGTAGCAGCGCACGTAT LIGCas-2 crRNA/ Forward CTACACTCTTTCCCTACACGACGCTCTTC 449 tracrRNACGATCTGAAGCTGTAACGATTTACGCACC TGCTG LIGCas-2 crRNA/ ReverseCAAGCAGAAGACGGCATACGAGCTCTTC  35 tracrRNA CGATCTGCAAATGAGTAGCAGCGCACGTAT LIGCas-3 crRNA/ Forward CTACACTCTTTCCCTACACGACGCTCTTC  37 tracrRNACGATCTAAGGCGCAAATGAGTAGCAGCG CAC LIGCas-3 crRNA/ ReverseCAAGCAGAAGACGGCATACGAGCTCTTC  38 tracrRNA CGATCTCACCTGCTGGGAATTGTACCGTALIGCas-3 Long Forward CTACACTCTTTCCCTACACGACGCTCTTC 450 guideCGATCTTTCCCGCAAATGAGTAGCAGCGC RNA AC LIGCas-3 Long ReverseCAAGCAGAAGACGGCATACGAGCTCTTC  38 guide CGATCTCACCTGCTGGGAATTGTACCGTA RNA

The resulting PCR amplifications were purified with a Qiagen PCRpurification spin column, concentration measured with a Hoechstdye-based fluorometric assay, combined in an equimolar ratio, and singleread 100 nucleotide-length deep sequencing was performed on Illumina'sMiSeq Personal Sequencer with a 30-40% (v/v) spike of PhiX control v3(Illumina, FC-110-3001) to off-set sequence bias. Only those reads witha nucleotide indel arising within the 10 nucleotide window centered overthe expected site of cleavage and not found in a similar level in thenegative control were classified as NHEJ mutations. NHEJ mutant readswith the same mutation were counted and collapsed into a single read andthe top 10 most prevalent mutations were visually confirmed as arisingwithin the expected site of cleavage. The total numbers of visuallyconfirmed NHEJ mutations were then used to calculate the % mutant readsbased on the total number of reads of an appropriate length containing aperfect match to the barcode and forward primer.

The frequency of NHEJ mutations recovered by deep sequencing for thecrRNA/tracrRNA/Cas endonuclease system targeting the three LIGCastargets (SEQ ID NOS: 16, 17, 18) compared to the long guide RNA/Casendonuclease system targeting the same locus is shown in Table 32.

TABLE 32 Percent (%) mutant reads at maize Liguleless 1 target locusproduced by crRNA/tracrRNA/Cas endonuclease system compared to the longguide RNA/Cas endonuclease system Total Number of Number of Mutant %Mutant System Reads Reads Reads Cas9 Only Control 1,744,427 0 0.00%LIGCas-3 long 1,596,955 35,300 2.21% guide RNA LIGCas-1 1,803,163 4,3310.24% crRNA/tracrRNA LIGCas-2 1,648,743 3,290 0.20% crRNA/tracrRNALIGCas-3 1,681,130 2,409 0.14% crRNA/tracrRNA

The ten most prevalent types of NHEJ mutations recovered based on thecrRNA/tracrRNA/Cas endonuclease system are shown in FIG. 27A (forLIGCas-1 target site, corresponding to SEQ ID NOs:415-424), FIG. 27B(for LIGCas-2 target site corresponding to SEQ ID NOs: 425-434) and FIG.27C (for LIGCas-3 target site corresponding to SEQ ID NOs:435-444).Approximately, 9-16 fold lower frequencies of NHEJ mutations wereobserved when using a crRNA/tracrRNA/Cas endonuclease system tointroduce a double strand break at a maize genomic target site, relativeto the long guide RNA/Cas endonuclease system control.

Taken together, our data indicate that the maize optimizedcrRNA/tracrRNA/Cas endonuclease system described herein cleaves maizechromosomal DNA and generates imperfect NHEJ mutations.

Example 23 Modifying the ARGOS8 Gene to Improve Drought Tolerance andNitrogen Use Efficiency in Maize Plants

ARGOS is a negative regulator for ethylene responses in plants (WO2013/066805 A1, published 10 May 2013). ARGOS proteins target theethylene signal transduction pathway. When over-expressed in maizeplants, ARGOS reduces plant sensitivity to ethylene and promotes organgrowth, leading to increased drought tolerance (DRT) and improvednitrogen use efficiency (NUE) ((WO 2013/066805 A1, published 10 May2013). To achieve optimal ethylene sensitivity, promoters have beentested for driving Zm-ARGOS8 over-expression in transgenic maize plants.Field trials showed that a maize promoter, Zm-GOS2 PRO:GOS2 INTRON (SEQID NO:460, U.S. Pat. No. 6,504,083 patent issued on Jan. 7, 2003;Zm-GOS2 is a maize homologous gene of rice GOS2. Rice GOS2 stands forGene from Oryza Sativa 2), provided a favorable expression level andtissue coverage for Zm-ARGOS8 and the transgenic plants have a highergrain yield than non-transgenic controls under drought stress and lownitrogen conditions (WO 2013/066805 A1, published 10 May 2013). However,these transgenic plants contain two ARGOS8 genes, the endogenous geneand the transgene. ARGOS8 protein levels, therefore, are determined bythese two genes. Because the endogenous ARGOS8 gene varies in sequenceand the expression level among different inbred lines, the ARGOS8protein level will be different when the transgene is integrated intodifferent inbreds. Here we present a mutagenization (gene editing)method to modify the promoter region of the endogenous ARGOS8 gene toattain desired expression patterns and eliminate the need for atransgene.

The promoter Zm-GOS2 PRO:GOS2 INTRON (SEQ ID NO:460; U.S. Pat. No.6,504,083 patent issued on Jan. 7, 2003) was inserted into the 5′-UTR ofZm-ARGOS8 (SEQ ID NO:462) by using a guideRNA/Cas9 system. The Zm-GOS2PRO:GOS2 INTRON fragment also included a primer binding site (SEQ IDNO:459) at its 5′ end to facilitate event screening with PCR. We alsosubstituted the native promoter of Zm-ARGOS8 (SEQ ID NO:461) withZm-GOS2 PRO::GOS2 INTRON (SEQ ID NO:460). Resulted maize lines carry anew ARGOS8 allele whose expression levels and tissue specificity willdiffer from the native form. We expect that these lines willrecapitulate the phenotype of increased drought tolerance and improvedNUE as observed in the Zm-GOS2 PRO:Zm-ARGOS8 transgenic plants (WO2013/066805 A1, published 10 May 2013). These maize lines are differentfrom those conventional transgenic events: (1) there is only one ARGOS8gene in the genome; (2) this modified version of Zm-ARGOS8 resides atits native locus; (3) the ARGOS8 protein level and the tissuespecificity of gene expression are entirely controlled by the editedallele. The DNA reagents used during the mutagenization, such asguideRNA, Cas9endonuclease, transformation selection marker and otherDNA fragments are not required for function of the newly generatedARGOS8 allele and can be eliminated from the genome by segregationthrough standard breeding methods. Because the promoter Zm-GOS2 PRO:GOS2INTRON was copied from maize GOS2 gene (SEQ ID NO:464) and inserted intothe ARGOS8 locus through homologous recombination, this ARGOS8 allele isindistinguishable from natural mutant alleles.

A. Insertion of Zea mays-GOS2 PRO:GOS2 INTRON into Maize-ARGOS 8Promoter

To insert Zm-GOS2 PRO:GOS2 INTRON into the 5′-UTR of maize ARGOS8 gene,a guideRNA construct, gRNA1, was made using maize U6 promoter andterminator as described herein. The 5′-end of the guide RNA contained a19-bp variable targeting domain targeting the genomic target sequence 1(CTS1; SEQ ID NO; 451) in the 5′-UTR of Zm-ARGOS8 (FIG. 28). Apolynucleotide modification template containing the Zm-GOS2 PRO:GOS2INTRON that was flanked by two genomic DNA fragments (HR1 and HR2, 370and 430-bp in length, respectively) derived from the upstream anddownstream region of the CTS1 (FIG. 28). The gRNA1 construct, thepolynucleotide modification template, a Cas9 cassette and transformationselection marker phosphomannose isomerase (PMI) were introduced intomaize immature embryo cells by using a particle bombardment method.PMI-resistant calli were screened with PCR for Zm-GOS2 PRO:GOS2 INTRONinsertion (FIGS. 29A and 29B). Multiple callus events were identifiedand plants were regenerated. The insertion events were confirmed byamplifying the Zm-ARGOS8 region in T0 plants with PCR (FIG. 29C) andsequencing the PCR products.

B. Replacement of Zm-ARGOS 8 Promoter with Zm-GOS2 PRO:GOS2 INTRONPromoter (Promoter Swap).

To substitute (replace) the native promoter of Zm-ARGOS8 with Zm-GOS2PRO:GOS2 INTRON, a guide RNA construct, gRNA3, was made for targetingthe genomic target site CTS3 (SEQ ID NO:453), located 710-bp upstream ofthe Zm-ARGOS8 start codon (FIG. 30). Another guide RNA, gRNA2, wasdesigned to target the genomic target site CTS2 (SEQ ID NO:452) locatedin the 5′-UTR of Zm-ARGOSO8 (FIG. 30). The polynucleotide modificationtemplate contained a 400-bp genomic DNA fragment derived from theupstream region of CTS3, Zm-GOS2 PRO:GOS2 INTRON and a 360-bp genomicDNA fragment derived from the downstream region of CTS2 (FIG. 30). ThegRNA3 and gRNA2, the Cas9 cassette, the polynucleotide modificationtemplate and the PMI selection marker were used to transform immatureembryo cells. Multiple promoter swap (promoter replacement) events wereidentified by PCR screening of the PMI-resistance calli (FIGS. 31A, 31B& 31C) and plants were regenerated. The swap events were confirmed byPCR analysis of the Zm-ARGOS8 region in T0 plants (FIG. 31D).

C. Deletion of Zm-ARGOS 8 Promoter

To delete the promoter of Zm-ARGOS8, we screened the PMI-resistancecalli obtained from the above gRNA3/gRNA2 experiment to look for eventsthat produce a 1.1-kb PCR product (FIG. 32A). Multiple deletion eventswere identified (FIG. 32B) and plants were regenerated. The deletionevents were confirmed by amplifying the Zm-ARGOS8 region in T0 plantswith PCR and sequencing of the PCR products.

Example 24 Gene Editing of the Soybean EPSPS1 Gene Using the GuideRNA/Cas Endonuclease System

A. guideRNA/Cas9 Endonuclease Target Site Design on the Soybean EPSPSGenes.

Two guideRNA/Cas9 endonuclease target sites (soy EPSPS-CR1 and soyEPSPS-CR2) were identified in the Exon2 of the soybean EPSPS1 geneGlyma01g33660 (Table 33).

TABLE 33 Guide RNA/Cas9 endonuclease target sites on soybean EPSPS1 geneName of Cas endonuclease gRNA-Cas9 target endonuclease sequence targetsite (SEQ ID NO:) Physical location soy EPSPS-CR1 467 Gm01: 45865337 . .. 45865315 soy EPSPS-CR2 468 Gm01: 45865311 . . . 45865333B. Guide-RNA Expression Cassettes, Cas9 Endonuclease ExpressionCassettes and Polynucleotide Modification Templates for Introduction ofSpecific Amino Acid Changes in the Soybean EPSPS1 Gene

The soybean U6 small nuclear RNA promoter, GM-U6-13.1 (SEQ ID. NO: 469),was used to express guide RNAs to direct Cas9 nuclease to designatedgenomic target sites (Table 34). A soybean codon optimized Cas9endonuclease (SEQ ID NO: 489) expression cassette and a guide RNAexpression cassette were linked in a first plasmid that was co-deliveredwith a polynucleotide modification template. The polynucleotidemodification template contained specific nucleotide changes that encodedfor amino acid changes in the EPSPS1 polypeptide (Glyma01g33660), suchas the T183I and P187S (TIPS) in the Exon2. Other amino acid changes inthe EPSPS1 polypeptide can also be obtained using the guide RNA/Casendonuclease system described herein. Specific amino acid modificationscan be achieved by homologous recombination between the genomic DNA andthe polynucleotide modification template facilitated by the guideRNA/Casendonuclease system.

TABLE 34 Guide RNA/Cas9 expression cassettes and polynucleotidemodification templates used in soybean stable transformation for thespecific amino acid modifications of the EPSPS1 gene. polynucleotideGuide RNA/Cas9 SEQ ID modification SEQ ID Experiment (plasmid name) NO:template NO: soy EPSPS- U6-13.1:EPSPS CR1 + 470 RTW1013A 472 CR1EF1A2:CAS9 (QC878) soy EPSPS- U6-13.1:EPSPS CR2 + 471 RTW1012A 473 CR2EF1A2:CAS9 (QC879)C. Detection of Site-Specific Non-Homologous-End-Joining (NHEJ) Mediatedby the Guide RNA/Cas9 System in Stably Transformed Soybean

Genomic DNA was extracted from somatic embryo samples and analyzed byquantitative PCR using a 7500 real time PCR system (Applied Biosystems,Foster City, Calif.) with target site-specific primers and FAM-labeledfluorescence probe to check copy number changes of the double strandbreak target sites. The qPCR analysis was done in duplex reactions witha syringolide induced protein (SIP) as the endogenous controls and awild type 93B86 genomic DNA sample that contains one copy of the targetsite with 2 alleles, as the single copy calibrator. The presence orabsence of the guide RNA-Cas9 expression cassette in the transgenicevents was also analyzed with the qPCR primer/probes for guideRNA/Cas9(SEQ IDs: 477-479) and for PinII (SEQ ID: 480-482).he qPCRprimers/probes are listed in Table 35.

TABLE 35 Primers/Probes used in qPCR analyses of transqenic soybeanevents. SEQ ID Target Site Primer/Probe Name Sequences NOs: EPSPS-CR1 &Soy1-F1 CCACTAGTAAGGAATCTAAAGATGAA 474 EPSPS-CR2 ATCA Soy1-R2CCTGCAGCAACCACAGCTGCTGTC 475 Soy1-T1 (FAM-MGB) CTGCAATGCGTCCTT 476gRNA/CAS9 Cas9-F CCTTCTTCCACCGCCTTGA 477 Cas9-R TGGGTGTCTCTCGTGCTTTTT478 Cas9-T (FAM-MGB) AATCATTCCTGGTGGAGGA 479 pinII pINII-99FTGATGCCCACATTATAGTGATTAGC 480 pINII-13R CATCTTCTGGATTGGCCAACTT 481pINII-69T (FAM-MGB) ACTATGTGTGCATCCTT 482 SIP SIP-130FTTCAAGTTGGGCTTTTTCAGAAG 483 SIP-198R TCTCCTTGGTGCTCTCATCACA 484SIP-170T (VIC-MGB) CTGCAGCAGAACCAA 485

The endogenous control probe SIP-T was labeled with VIC and thegene-specific probes for all the target sites were labeled with FAM forthe simultaneous detection of both fluorescent probes (AppliedBiosystems). PCR reaction data were captured and analyzed using thesequence detection software provided with the 7500 real time PCR systemand the gene copy numbers were calculated using the relativequantification methodology (Applied Biosystems).

Since the wild type 93B86 genomic DNA with two alleles of the doublestrand break target site was used as the single copy calibrator, eventswithout any change of the target site would be detected as one copyherein termed Wt-Homo (qPCR value>=0.7), events with one allele changed,which is no longer detectible by the target site-specific qPCR, would bedetected as half copy herein termed NHEJ-Hemi (qPCR value between 0.1and 0.7), while events with both alleles changed would be detected asnull herein termed NHEJ-Null (qPCR value=<0.1). As shown in Table 36,both guideRNA/Cas endonuclease systems targeting the soy EPSPS-CR1 andEPSPS-CR2 sites can introduce efficient Double Strand Break (DSB)efficiency at their designed target sites. Both NHEJ-Hemi and NHEJ-Nullwere detected in the 93B86 genotype. NHEJ (Non-Homologous-End-Joining)mutations mediated by the guide RNA/Cas9 system at the specific Cas9target sites were confirmed by PCR/topo cloning/sequencing.

TABLE 36 Target Site Double Strand Break Rate Mutations Induced by theGuide RNA/Cas9 system on soybean EPSPS1 gene. Numbers indicate no. ofevents (numbers in parentheses are %). Total Project event Wt-Homo (%)NHEJ-Hemi (%) NHEJ-Null (%) U6-13.1 168 63 (38%) 66 (39%) 39 (23%)EPSPS-CR1 U6-13.1 111 50 (45%) 21 (19%) 40 (36%) EPSPS-CR2D. Detection of the TIPS Mutation in the Soybean EPSPS Gene

In order to edit specific amino acids at the native EPSPS gene (such asthose resulting in a TIPS modification), a polynucleotide modificationtemplate, such as RTW1013A or RTW1012A (Table 34), was co-delivered withthe guideRNA/Cas9 expression cassettes into soybean cells.

The modification of the native EPSPS1 gene via guide RNA/Cas9 systemmediated DNA homologous recombination was determined by specific PCRanalysis. A specific PCR assay with primer pair WOL569 (SEQ ID NO: 486)and WOL876 (SEQ ID NO: 487) was used to detect perfect TIPS modificationat the native EPSPS1 gene. A second primer pair WOL569 (SEQ ID NO: 486)and WOL570 (SEQ ID NO: 488) was used to amplify both TIPS modifiedEPSPS1 allele and WT (wild type)/NHEJ mutated allele. Topocloning/sequencing was used to verify the sequences.

Example 25 Intron Replacement of Soybean Genes Using the GuideRNA/CasEndonuclease System

A. GuideRNA/Cas9 Endonuclease Target Site Design.

Four guideRNA/Cas9 endonuclease target sites were identified in thesoybean EPSPS1 gene Glyma01g33660 (Table 37). Two of the target sites(soy EPSPS-CR1 and soy EPSPS-CR2) were identified to target the Exon2 ofthe soybean EPSPS gene as described in Example 24. Another two targetsites (soy EPSPS-CR4 and soy EPSPS-CR5) were designed near the 5′ end ofthe intron1 of the soybean EPSPS gene.

TABLE 37 Guide RNA/Cas9 endonuclease target sites on soybean EPSPS1gene. Cas endonuclease Name of gRNA-Cas9 target endonuclease sequencetarget site (SEQ ID NO:) Physical location soy EPSPS-CR1 467 Gm01:45865337 . . . 45865315 soy EPSPS-CR2 468 Gm01: 45865311 . . . 45865333soy EPSPS-CR4 490 Gm01: 45866302 . . . 45866280 soy EPSPS-CR5 491 Gm01:45866295 . . . 45866274B. Guide RNA/Cas9 Endonuclease Expression Cassettes and PolynucleotideModification Templates used in Soybean Stable Transformation for theReplacement of the Intron1 of the Soybean EPSPS1 Gene with the SoybeanUbiquitin (UBQ) Intron1

The soybean U6 small nuclear RNA promoter GM-U6-13.1 (SEQ ID. NO: 469)was used to express two guide RNAs (soy-EPSPS-CR1 and soy-EPSPS-CR4, orsoy-EPSPS-CR1 and soy-EPSPS-CR5) to direct Cas9 endonuclease todesignated genomic target sites (Table 38). One of the target sites(soy-EPSPS-CR1) was located in the exon2, as described in Example 24,and a second target site (soy-EPSPS-CR4 or soy-EPSPS-CR5) was locatednear the 5′ end of intron1 of the native EPSPS1 gene. A soybean codonoptimized Cas9 endonuclease expression cassette and a guide RNAexpression cassette were linked in the expression plasmids QC878/RTW1199(SEQ ID NO:470/492) or QC878/RTW1200 (SEQ ID NO:470/493) that wasco-delivered with a polynucleotide modification template. Thepolynucleotide modification template, RTW1190A (SEQ ID NO:494),contained 532bp intron1 of the soybean UBQ gene and the TIPS modifiedExon2. Soybean EPSPS1 intron 1 replacement with the soybean UBQ intron1can be achieved with the guide RNA/Cas system by homologousrecombination between the genomic DNA and the polynucleotidemodification template, resulting in enhancement of the native ormodified soy EPSPS1 gene expression.

TABLE 38 Guide RNA/Cas9 endonuclease expression cassettes andpolynucleotide modification templates used in soybean stabletransformation for the replacement of the Intron1 of the soybean EPSPS1gene with the soybean ubiquitin (UBQ) intron1 poly- nucleotide SEQ SEQID modification ID Experiment Guide RNA/Cas9 NO: template NO: soyEPSPS-CR1 U6-13.1:EPSPS CR1 + 470/492 RTW1190A 494 and CR4 + EF1A2:CAS9soy EPSPS-CR4 (QC878/RTW1199) soy EPSPS-CR1 U6-13.1:EPSPS CR1 + 470/493RTW1190A 494 and CR5 + EF1A2:CAS9 soy EPSPS-CR5 (QC878/RTW1200)C. Detection of site-specific NHEJ mediated by the guide RNA/Cas9 systemin stably transformed soybean

Site-specific NHEJ was detected as described in Example 24 C, using theqPCR primers/probes listed in Table 39.

TABLE 39Primers/Probes used in qPCR analyses of transdenic soybean events. SEQTarget ID Site Primer/Probe Name Sequences NOs: EPSPS-CR1 & Soy1-F1CCACTAGTAAGGAATCTAAAGATGA 474 EPSPS-CR2 AATCA Soy1-R2CCTGCAGCAACCACAGCTGCTGTC 475 Soy1-T1 (FAM-MGB) CTGCAATGCGTCCTT 476EPSPS-CR4 Soy1-F3 GTTTGTTTGTTGTTGGGTGTGGG 495 Soy1-R3GACATGATGCTTCATTTTCACAGAA 496 Soy-T2 (FAM-MGB) TGTGTAGAGTGGATTTTG 497EPSPS-CR5 Soy1-F2 TGTTGTTGGGTGTGGGAATAGG 498 Soy1-R3GACATGATGCTTCATTTTCACAGAA 496 Soy1-T2 (FAM-MGB) TGTGTAGAGTGGATTTTG 497gRNA/CAS9 Cas9-F CCTTCTTCCACCGCCTTGA 477 Cas9-R TGGGTGTCTCTCGTGCTTTTT478 Cas9-T (FAM-MGB) AATCATTCCTGGTGGAGGA 479 pinII pINII-99FTGATGCCCACATTATAGTGATTAGC 480 pINII-13R CATCTTCTGGATTGGCCAACTT 481pINII-69T (FAM-MGB) ACTATGTGTGCATCCTT 482 SIP SIP-130FTTCAAGTTGGGCTTTTTCAGAAG 483 SIP-198R TCTCCTTGGTGCTCTCATCACA 484SIP-170T (VIC-MGB) CTGCAGCAGAACCAA 485D. Detection of the Replacement of the Soybean EPSPS1 intron 1 with theSoybean UBQ Intron 1 using the Guide RNA/Cas9 Endonuclease System.

In order to replace the soybean EPSPS1 intron1 with the soybean UBQintron1 at the native EPSPS1 gene, two guideRNA expression vectors wereused as shown in Table 38. The QC878 vector (SEQ ID NO: 470) wastargeting the exon2 and the RTW1199 (SEQ ID NO:492) or RTW1200 (SEQ IDNO:493) was targeting the 5′ end of the intron1. The double cleavage ofsoybean EPSPS gene with the two guide RNA/Cas systems resulted in theremoval of the native EPSPS1 intron1/partial Exon2 fragment. At the sametime, a polynucleotide modification template RTW1190A (SEQ ID NO:494)was co-delivered into soybean cells and homologous recombination betweenthe polynucleotide modification template and the genomic DNA resulted inthe replacement of EPSPS1 intron1 with the soybean UBQ intron1 and thedesired amino acid modifications in exon2 as evidenced by PCR analysis.PCR assays with primer WOL1001/WOL1002 pair (SEQ ID NO: 499 and 500) andWOL1003/WOL1004 pair (SEQ ID NO: 501 and 502) were used to detect theintron replacement events.

Example 26 Promoter Replacement (Promoter Swap) of Soybean Genes Usingthe GuideRNA/Cas Endonuclease System

A. GuideRNA/Cas9 Endonuclease Target Site Design.

Four guideRNA/Cas9 endonuclease target sites were identified in thesoybean EPSPS1 gene Glyma01g33660 (Table 40). Two of the target sites(soy EPSPS-CR1 and soy EPSPS-CR2) were identified to target the Exon2 ofthe soybean EPSPS gene as described in Example 24. The soy EPSPS-CR6 andsoy EPSPS-CR7 were identified near the 5′ end of the −798 bp of thenative EPSPS promoter.

TABLE 40 Guide RNA/Cas9 endonuclease target sites on soybean EPSPS1gene. Cas Name of gRNA-Cas9 endonuclease endonuclease target sequencetarget site (SEQ ID NO:) Physical location soy EPSPS-CR1 467 Gm01:45865337 . . . 45865315 soy EPSPS-CR2 468 Gm01: 45865311 . . . 45865333soy EPSPS-CR6 503 Gm01: 45867471 . . . 45867493 soy EPSPS-CR7 504 Gm01:45867459 . . . 45867481B. Guide RNA/Cas9 Endonuclease Expression Cassettes and PolynucleotideModification Templates used in Soybean Stable Transformation for theReplacement of the −798 bp Soybean EPSPS1 Promoter with the Soybean UBQPromoter.

The soybean U6 small nuclear RNA promoter GM-U6-13.1 (SEQ ID. NO: 469)was used to express two guide RNAs (soyEPSPS-CR1 and soyEPSPS-CR6, orsoyEPSPS-CR1 and soyEPSPS-CR7) to direct Cas9 nuclease to designatedgenomic target sites (Table 41). One of the target sites (soy-EPSPS-CR1)was located in the exon2 as described in Example 24 and a second targetsite (soy-EPSPS-CR6 or soy-EPSPS-CR7) was located near 5′ end of the−798 bp of the native EPSPS1 promoter. A soybean codon optimized Cas9endonuclease expression cassette and a guide RNA expression cassettewere linked in the expression plasmids QC878/RTW1201 (SEQ ID NO:470/505)or QC878/RTW1202 (SEQ ID NO:470/506) that was co-delivered with apolynucleotide modification template, RTW1192A (SEQ ID NO:507). Thepolynucleotide modification template contained 1369 bp of the soybeanUBQ gene promoter, 47 bp 5UTR and 532 bp UBQ intron1. Specific soybeanEPSPS1 promoter replacement with the soybean UBQ promoter can beachieved with the guide RNA/Cas system by homologous recombinationbetween the genomic DNA and the polynucleotide modification template,resulting enhancement of the native or modified soy EPSPS1 geneexpression

TABLE 41 Guide RNA/Cas9 endonuclease expression cassettes andpolynucleotide modification templates used in soybean stabletransformation for the replacement of the −798 bp soybean EPSPS1promoter with the soybean UBQ promoter SEQ polynucleotide SEQ IDmodification ID Experiment Guide RNA/Cas9 NO: template NO: soy EPSPS-CR1U6-13.1:EPSPS CR1 + 470, RTW1192A 507 and CR6 + EF1A2:CAS9 505 soyEPSPS-CR6 (QC878/RTW1201) soy EPSPS-CR1 U6-13.1:EPSPS CR1 + 470,RTW1192A 507 and CR7 + EF1A2:CAS9 506 soy EPSPS-CR7 (QC878/RTW1202)C. Detection of Site-Specific NHEJ Mediated by the Guide RNA/Cas9 Systemin Stably Transformed Soybean

Site-specific NHEJ was detected as described in Example 24 C, using theqPCR primers/probes listed in Table 42.

TABLE 42Primers/Probes used in qPCR analyses of transdenic soybean events SEQ IDTarget Site Primer/Probe Name Sequences NOs: EPSPS-CR1 & Soy1-F1CCACTAGTAAGGAATCTAAAGATGAA 474 EPSPS-CR12 ATCA Soy1-R2CCTGCAGCAACCACAGCTGCTGTC 475 Soy1-T1 (FAM-MGB) CTGCAATGCGTCCTT 476EPSPS-CR6 & Soy1-F4 TCAATAATACTACTCTCTTAGACACCA 508 EPSPS-CR7 AACAASoy1-R4 CAAGGAAAATGAATGATGGCTTT 509 Soy1-T3 (FAM-MGB) CCTTCCCAAACTATAATC510 gRNA/CAS9 Cas9-F CCTTCTTCCACCGCCTTGA 477 Cas9-RTGGGTGTCTCTCGTGCTTTTT 478 Cas9-T (FAM-MGB) AATCATTCCTGGTGGAGGA 479 pinIIpINII-99F TGATGCCCACATTATAGTGATTAGC 480 pINII-13R CATCTTCTGGATTGGCCAACTT481 pIN11-69T (FAM-MGB) ACTATGTGTGCATCCTT 482 SIP SIP-130FTTCAAGTTGGGCTTTTTCAGAAG 483 SIP-198R TCTCCTTGGTGCTCTCATCACA 484SIP-170T (VIC-MGB) CTGCAGCAGAACCAA 485D. Detection of the Promoter Replacement of the Soybean EPSPS1 Promoterwith the Soybean UBQ Promoter using the Guide RNA/Cas9 EndonucleaseSystem.

In order to replace the soybean EPSPS1 promoter with the soybean UBQpromoter at the native EPSPS1 gene, two guideRNA expression vectors wereused in each soybean transformation experiment as shown in Table 41. TheQC878 (SEQ ID NO: 470) was targeting the exon2 and the RTW1201(SEQ IDNO: 505) or RTW1202 (SEQ ID NO: 506) was targeting the 5′ end of thesoybean −798 bp promoter. The double cleavage of the soybean EPSPS1 genewith the two guide RNA/Cas systems resulted in removal of the nativeEPSPS1 promoter/5′UTR-Exon1/Intron1/partial Exon2 fragment at the nativeEPSPS gene. At the same time, a polynucleotide modification templateRTW1192A (SEQ ID NO: 507) was co-delivered into soybean cells. ThisRTW1192A DNA contained 1369 bp soybean UBQ promoter, its 47 bp 5-UTR and532 bp UBQ intron1 in front of the EPSPS1 exon1-Intron1-modified Exon2.Homologous recombination between the polynucleotide modificationtemplate and the genomic DNA resulted in the replacement of EPSPS1promoter/5′UTR with the soybean UBQ promoter/5′UTR/Intron1 and thedesired amino acid modifications evidenced by PCR analysis. PCR assayswith primer WOL1005/WOL1006 pair (SEQ ID NO: 511 and 512) andWOL1003/WOL1004 pair (SEQ ID NO: 501 and 502) were used to detect thepromoter replacement events.

Example 27 Enhancer Element Deletions Using the GuideRNA/CasEndonuclease System

The guide RNA/Cas endonuclease system described herein can be used toallow for the deletion of a promoter element from either a transgenic(pre-existing, artificial) or endogenous gene. Promoter elements, suchenhancer elements, or often introduced in promoters driving geneexpression cassettes in multiple copies (3X=3 copies of enhancerelement, FIG. 33) for trait gene testing or to produce transgenic plantsexpressing specific trait. Enhancer elements can be, but are not limitedto, a 35S enhancer element (Benfey et al, EMBO J, August 1989; 8(8):2195-2202, SEQ ID NO:513). In some plants (events), the enhancerelements can cause an unwanted phenotype, a yield drag, or a change inexpression pattern of the trait of interest that is not desired. Forexample, as shown in FIG. 33, a plant comprising multiple enhancerelements (3 copies, 3X) in its genomic DNA located between two traitcassettes (Trait A en Trait B) was characterized to show an unwantedphenotype. It is desired to remove the extra copies of the enhancerelement while keeping the trait gene cassettes intact at theirintegrated genomic location. The guide RNA/Cas endonuclease systemdescribed herein can be used to removing the unwanted enhancing elementfrom the plant genome. A guide RNA can be designed to contain a variabletargeting region targeting a target site sequence of 12-30 bps adjacentto a NGG (PAM) in the enhancer. If a Cas endonuclease target sitesequence is present in all copies of the enhancer elements (such as thethree Cas endonuclease target sites 35S-CRTS1 (SEQ ID NO:514), 35S-CRTS2(SEQ ID NO:515), 35S-CRTS3 (SEQ ID NO:516)), only one guide RNA isneeded to guide the Cas endonuclease to the target sites and induce adouble strand break in all the enhancer elements at once. The Casendonuclease can make cleavage to remove one or multiple enhancers. TheguideRNA/Cas endonuclease system can introduced by either agrobacteriumor particle gun bombardment. Alternatively, two different guide RNAs(targeting two different genomic target sites) can be used to remove all3X enhancer elements from the genome of an organism, in a manner similarto the removal of a (transgenic or endogenous) promoter describedherein.

Example 28 Regulatory Sequence Modifications Using the Guide RNA/CasEndonuclease System

A. Modification of Polyubiquitination Sites

There are defined ubiquitination sites on proteins to be degraded andthey were found within the maize EPSPS protein by using dedicatedcomputer programs (for example, the CKSAAP_UbSite (Ziding Zhang'sLaboratory of Protein Bioinformatics

-   College of Biological Sciences, China Agricultural University,    100193 Beijing, China). One of the selected polyubiquitination site    within the maize EPSPS coding sequence is shown in FIG. 34A and its    amino acid signature sequence is compared to the equivalent EPSPS    sites from the other plants (FIG. 34A). The lysine amino acid (K) at    position 90 (highly conserved in other plant species) was selected    as a potential site of the EPSPS protein polyubiquitination. The    polynucleotide modification template (referred to as EPSPS    polynucleotide maize K90R template) used to edit the epsps locus is    listed as SEQ ID NO: 517. This template allowed for editing the    epsps locus to contain the lysine (K) to arginine (R) substitution    at position 90 (K90R) and two additional TIPS substitutions at    positions 102 and 106 (FIGS. 34B and 34C). Maize genomic DNA was    edited using the guideRNA/Cas endonuclease system described herein    and T0 plants were produced as described herein. The T0 plants that    contained the nucleotide modifications, as specified by the    information provided on the K90R template (FIG. 34C), were selected    by the genotyping methods described herein. F1 EPSPS-K90R plants can    be selected for elevated protein content due to a slower rate of the    EPSPS protein degradation.    B. Editing Intron Elements to Introduce Intron Mediated Enhancer    Elements (IMEs)

Transcriptional activity of the native EPSPS gene can be modulated bytranscriptional enhancers positioned in the vicinity of othertranscription controlling elements. Introns are known to containenhancer elements affecting the overall rate of transcription fromnative promoters including the EPSPS promoter. For example, the firstintron of the maize ubiquitin 5′UTR confers a high level of expressionin monocot plants as specified in the WO 2011/156535 A1 patentapplication. An intron enhancing motif CATATCTG (FIG. 35A), alsoreferred to as a intron-mediated enhancer element, IME) was identifiedby proprietary analysis (WO2011/156535 A1, published on Dec. 15, 2011)and appropriate nucleotide sites at the 5′ end of the EPSPS first intronwere selected for editing in order to introduce the intron-mediatedenhancer elements (IMEs) (FIG. 35B-35C). The polynucleotide modificationtemplate (referred to as EPSPS polynucleotide maize IME template) islisted as SEQ ID No: 518. The polynucleotide modification templateallows for editing of the epsps locus to contain three IMEs (two on onestrand of the DNA, one on the reverse strand) in the first EPSPS intronand the TIPS substitutions at positions 102 and 106. The genomic DNA ofmaize plants was edited using the guideRNA/Cas endonuclease systemdescribed herein. Maize plants containing the IME edited EPSPS codingsequence can be selected by genotyping the T0 plants and can be furtherevaluated for elevated EPSPS-TIPS protein content due to the enhancedtranscription rate of the native EPSPS gene.

Example 29 Modifications of Splicing Sites and/or Introducing AlternateSplicing Sites Using the Guide RNA/Cas Endonuclease System

In maize cells, the splicing process is affected by splicing sites atthe exon-intron junction sites as illustrated in the EPSPS mRNAproduction (FIG. 36A-36B). FIG. 36A shows analysis of EPSPS amplifiedpre-mRNA (cDNA panel on left). Lane I4 in FIG. 36A shows amplificationof the EPSPS pre-mRNA containing the 3^(rd) intron unspliced, resultingin a 804 bp diagnostic fragment indicative for an alternate splicingevent. Lanes E3 and F8 show the EPSPS PCR amplified fragments resultingfrom regular spliced introns. Diagnostic fragments such as the 804 bpfragment of lane I4 are not amplified unless cDNA is synthesized (as isevident by the absence of bands in lanes E3, I4, and F8 comprising totalRNA (shown in the total RNA panel on right of FIG. 36A). The canonicalsplice site in the maize EPSPS gene and genes from other species isAGGT, while other (alterative) variants of the splice sites may lead tothe aberrant processing of pre-mRNA molecules. The EPSPS coding sequencecontains a number of alternate splicing sites that may affect theoverall efficiency of the pre-mRNA maturation process and as such maylimit the EPSPS protein accumulation in maize cells.

In order to limit the occurrence of alternate splicing events duringEPSPS gene expression, a guideRNA/Cas endonuclease system as describedherein can be used to edit splicing sites. The splicing site at thejunction of the second native EPSPS intron and the third exon is AGTTand can be edited in order to introduce the canonical AGGT splice siteat this junction (FIG. 37). The T>G substitution does not affect thenative EPSPS open reading frame and it does not change the EPSPS aminoacid sequence. The polynucleotide modification template (referred to asEPSPS polynucleotide maize Tspliced template) is listed as SEQ ID NO:519. This polynucleotide modification template allows for editing of theepsps locus to contain the canonical AGGT splice site at the 2^(nd)intron-3^(rd) exon junction site and the TIPS substitutions at positions102 and 106. Maize plants are edited using the procedures describedherein. F1 EPSPS-Tspliced maize plants can be evaluated for increasedprotein content due to the enhanced production of functional EPSPS mRNAmessages.

Example 30 Shortening Maturity Via Manipulation of Early FloweringPhenotype With ZmRap2.7 Down-Regulation Using the Guide RNA/CasEndonuclease System

Overall plant maturity can be shortened by modulating the flowering timephenotype of plants through modulation of a maize ZmRap2.7 gene.Shortening of plant maturity can be obtained by an early floweringphenotype.

RAP2.7 is an acronym for Related to APETALA 2.7. RAPL means RAP2.7 LIKEand RAP2.7 functions as an AP2-family transcription factor thatsuppresses floral transition (SEQ ID NOs:520 and 521). Transgenicphenotype upon silencing or knock-down of Rap2.7 resulted in earlyflowering, reduced plant height, but surprisingly developed normal earand tassel as compared the wild-type plants (PCT/US14/26279 application,filed Mar. 13, 2014). The guide RNA/Cas endonuclease system describedherein can be used to target and induce a double strand break at a Casendonuclease target site located within the RAP2.7 gene. Plantscomprising NHEJ within the RAP2.7 gene can be selected and evaluated forthe presence of a shortened maturity phenotype.

Example 31 Modulating Expression of a Maize NPK1 B Gene for EngineeringFrost Tolerance in Maize Using a Guide RNA/Cas Endonuclease System

Nicotiana Protein Kinase1 (NPK1) is a mitogen activated protein kinasekinase kinase that is involved in cytokinesis regulation and oxidativestress signal transduction. The ZM-NPK1 B (SEQ ID NO: 522 and SEQ ID NO:523) which has about 70% amino acid similarity to rice NPKL3 has beentested for frost tolerance in maize seedlings and reproductive stages(PCT/US14/26279 application, filed Mar. 13, 2014). Transgenic seedlingsand plants comprising a ZM-NPK1B driven by an inducible promoter Rab17,had significantly higher frost tolerance than control seedlings andcontrol plants. The gene seemed inducted after cold acclimation andduring −3° C. treatment period in most of the events but at low levels.(PCT/US14/26279 application, filed Mar. 13, 2014).

A guide RNA/Cas endonuclease system described herein can be used toreplace the endogenous promoter of NPK1 gene, with a stress-induciblepromoter such as the maize RAB17 promoter stages (SEQ ID NO: 524;PCT/US14/26279 application, filed Mar. 13, 2014), thus modulate NPK1Bexpression in a stress-responsive manner and provide frost tolerance tothe modulated maize plants.

Example 32 Shortening Maturity Via Manipulation of Early FloweringPhenotype With FTM1 Expression Using a Guide RNA/Cas EndonucleaseSystems

Overall plant maturity can shortened by modulating the flowering timephenotype of plants through expressing a transgene. Such a phenotypemodification can also be achieved with additional transgenes or througha breeding approach.

FTM1 stands for Floral Transition MADS 1 transcription factor (SEQ IDNOs: 525 and 526). It is a MADS Box transcriptional factor and inducesfloral transition. Upon expression of FTM1 under a constitutivepromoter, transgenic plants exhibited early flowering and shortenedmaturity, but surprisingly ear and tassel developed normally as comparedto the wild-type plants (PCT/US14/26279 application, filed Mar. 13,2014).

FTM1-expressing maize plants demonstrated that by manipulating a floraltransition gene, time to flowering can be reduced significantly, leadingto a shortened maturity for the plant. As maturity can be generallydescribed as time from seeding to harvest, a shorter maturity is desiredfor ensuring that a crop can finish in the northern continental dryclimatic environment (PCT/US14/26279 application, filed Mar. 13, 2014).

A guide RNA/Cas endonuclease system described herein can be used tointroduce enhancer elements such as the CaMV35S enhancers (Benfey et al,EMBO J, August 1989; 8(8): 2195-2202, SEQ ID NO:512), specificallytargeted in front of the endogenous promoter of FTM1, in order toenhance the expression of FTM1 while preserving most of the tissue andtemporal specificities of native expression, providing shortenedmaturity to the modulated plants.

Example 33 Inserting Inducible Responsive Elements in Plant Genomes

Inducible expression systems controlled by an external stimulus aredesirable for functional analysis of cellular proteins as well as traitdevelopment as changes in the expression level of the gene of interestcan lead to an accompanying phenotype modification. Ideally such asystem would not only mediate an “on/off” status for gene expression butwould also permit limited expression of a gene at a defined level.

-   The guide RNA/Cas endonuclease system described herein can be used    to introduce components of repressor/operator/inducer systems to    regulate gene expression of an organism. Repressor/operator/inducer    systems and their components are well known I the art (US    2003/0186281 published Oct. 2, 2003; U.S. Pat. No. 6,271,348). For    example, nut not limited to, components of the tetracycline (Tc)    resistance system of E. coli have been found to function in    eukaryotic cells and have been used to regulate gene expression    (U.S. Pat. No. 6,271,348). Nucleotide sequences of tet operators of    different classes are known in the art see for example: classA,    classB, classC, classD, classE TET operator sequences listed as SEQ    ID NOs:11-15 of U.S. Pat. No. 6,271,348.

Components of a sulfonylurea-responsive repressor system (as describedin U.S. Pat. No. 8,257,956, issued on Sep. 4,2012) can also beintroduced into plant genomes to generate a repressor/operator/inducersystems into said plant where polypeptides can specifically bind to anoperator, wherein the specific binding is regulated by a sulfonylureacompound.

Example 34 Genome Deletion for Trait Locus Characterization

Trait mapping in plant breeding often results in the detection ofchromosomal regions housing one or more genes controlling expression ofa trait of interest. For quantitative traits, expression of a trait ofinterest is governed by multiple quantitative trait loci (QTL) ofvarying effect-size, complexity, and statistical significance across oneor more chromosomes. A QTL or haplotype that is associated withsuppression of kernel-row number in the maize ear can be found to beendemic in elite breeding germplasm. The negative effect of this QTL forkernel row number can be fine-mapped to an acceptable resolution todesire selective elimination of this negative QTL segment withinspecific recipient germplasm. Two flanking cut sites for the guidepolynucleotide/Cas endonuclease system are designed via haplotype,marker, and/or DNA sequence context at the targeted QTL region, and thetwo guide polynucleotide/Cas endonuclease systems are deployedsimultaneously or sequentially to produce the desired end product of twoindependent double strand breaks (cuts) that liberate the interveningregion from the chromosome. Individuals harboring the desired deletionevent would result by the NHEJ repair of the two chromosomal ends andeliminating the intervening DNA region. Assays to identify theseindividuals is based on the presence of flanking DNA marker regions, butabsence of intervening DNA markers. A proprietary haplotype forkernel-row-number is created that is not extant in the previouslydefined elite breeding germplasm pool.

An alternative approach would be to delete a region containing afluorescent gene. Recovery of plants with, and without, fluorescencewould give an approximate indication of the efficiency of the deletionprocess.

Example 35 Engineering Drought Tolerance and Nitrogen Use EfficiencyInto Maize Via Gene Silencing by Expressing an Inverted Repeat Into anACS6 Gene Using the Guide RNA/Cas Endonuclease System

ACC (1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid) synthase (ACS) genes encodeenzymes that catalyze the rate limiting step in ethylene biosynthesis. Aconstruct containing one of the maize ACS genes, ZM-ACS6, in an invertedrepeat configuration, has been extensively tested for improved abioticstress tolerance in maize (PCT/US2010/051358, filed Oct. 4, 2010;PCT/US2010/031008, filed Apr. 14, 2010). Multiple transgenic maizeevents containing a ZM-ACS6 RNAi sequence driven by a ubiquitinconstitutive promoter had reduced ethylene emission, and a concomitantincrease in grain yield relative to controls under both drought and lownitrogen field conditions (Plant Biotechnology Journal: 12 Mar. 2014,DOI: 10.1111/pbi.12172).

In one embodiment, the guide RNA/Cas endonuclease system can be used incombination with a co-delivered polynucleotide sequence to insert aninverted ZM-ACS6 gene fragment into the genome of maize, wherein theinsertion of the inverted gene fragment allows for the in-vivo creationof an inverted repeat (hairpin) and results in the silencing of theendogenous ethylene biosynthesis gene.

In an embodiment the insertion of the inverted gene fragment can resultin the formation of an in-vivo created inverted repeat (hairpin) in anative (or modified) promoter of an ACS6 gene and/or in a native 5′ endof the native ACS6 gene. The inverted gene fragment can further comprisean intron which can result in an enhanced silencing of the targetedethylene biosynthetic gene.

Example 36 T0 Plants from the Multiplexed Guide RNA/Cas ExperimentCarried High Frequency of Bi-Allelic Mutations and Demonstrated ProperInheritance of Mutagenized Alleles in the T1 Population

This example demonstrates the high efficiency of the guide RNA/Casendonuclease system in generating maize plants with multiple mutagenizedloci and their inheritance in the consecutive generation(s).

Mutated events generated in the multiplexed experiment described inExample 4 were used to regenerate T0 plants with mutations at 3different target sites: MS26Cas-2 target site (SEQ ID NO: 14), LIGCas-3target site (SEQ ID NO: 18) and MS45Cas-2 target site (SEQ ID NO: 20).

For further analysis, total genomic DNA was extracted from leaf tissueof individual T0 plants. Fragments spanning all 3 target sites were PCRamplified using primer pairs for the corresponding target sites, clonedinto the pCR2.1-TOPO cloning vector (Invitrogen), and sequenced. Table43 shows examples of mutations detected in four T0 plants resulting fromimprecise NHEJ at all relevant loci when multiple guide RNA expressioncassettes were simultaneously introduced either in duplex (seeTS=Lig34/MS26) or triplex (see TS=Lig34/MS26/MS45), respectively.

TABLE 43 Examples of mutations at maize target loci produced by amultiplexed guide RNA/Cas system Target sites T0 qPCR Sequencing data(TS) plant data Lig3/4 TS Ms26 TS Ms45 TS Lig34/MS26 1 NULL/NULL* 1 bpins/2 bp 1bp ins/19 bp del + 1 bp ins del 2 NULL/NULL 1 bp ins/1 bp del1 bp ins/1 bp ins Lig34/MS26/ 1 NULL/NULL/ 1 bp ins/large del 1 bp ins/1bp 15 bp del/ MS45 NULL del large del 2 INDEL**/NULL/ 1 bp ins/WT 1 bp(T) ins/ 1 bp ins/ NULL 1 bp (C) ins large del *NULL indicates that bothalleles are mutated **INDEL indicates mutation in one of the twoalleles. del = deletion, ins = insertion, bp = base pair

All T0 plants were crossed with wild type maize plants to produce T1seeds. T1 progeny plants (32 plants) of the second T0 plant from thetriplex experiment (see Table 43, Lig34/MS26/MS45) were analyzed bysequencing to evaluate segregation frequencies of the mutated alleles.Our results demonstrated proper inheritance and expected (1:1)segregation of the mutated alleles as well as between mutated and wildtype alleles at all three target sites.

The data clearly demonstrate that the guide RNA/maize optimized Casendonuclease system described herein, can be used to simultaneouslymutagenize multiple chromosomal loci and produce progeny plantscontaining the stably inherited multiple gene knock-outs.

Example 37 Guide RNA/Cas Endonuclease Mediated DNA Cleavage in MaizeChromosomal Loci can Stimulate Homologous Recombination Repair-MediatedTransgene Insertion and Resulting T1 Progeny Plants Demonstrated ProperInheritance of the Modified Alleles

Maize events generated in the experiment described in Example 5 wereused to regenerate T0 plants. T0 plants were regenerated from 7independent callus events with correct amplifications across bothtransgene genomic DNA junctions and analyzed. Leaf tissue was sampled,total genomic DNA extracted, and PCR amplification at both transgenegenomic DNA junctions was carried out using the primer pairs(corresponding to SEQ ID NOs: 98-101). The resulting amplificationproducts were sequenced for confirmation. Plants with confirmedjunctions at both ends were further analyzed by Southern hybridization(FIG. 38) using two probes, genomic (outside HR1 region, SEQ ID: 533)and transgenic (within MoPAT gene, SEQ ID: 534). PCR, sequencing andSouthern hybridization data demonstrated that plants regenerated fromtwo of the 7 events (events 1 and 2) demonstrated perfect, clean, singlecopy transgene integration at the expected target site via homologousrecombination. Plants regenerated from the remaining 5 events containedeither additional, randomly integrated copies of the transgene (events4, 5, and 6) or rearranged copies of the transgene integrated into thetarget site (events 3 and 7).

T0 plants from events 1 and 2 were crossed with wild type maize plantsto produce T1 seeds. Ninety-six T1 plants from events 1 and 2 wereanalyzed by Southern hybridization (using the same probes as above) toevaluate segregation frequencies of the transgene locus. Southernresults demonstrated proper inheritance and expected (1:1) segregationof the transgene and wild type loci.

The data clearly demonstrate that maize chromosomal loci cleaved withthe maize optimized guide RNA/Cas system described herein can be used tostimulate HR repair pathways to site-specifically insert transgenes andproduce progeny plants that have the inserted transgene stablyinherited.

Example 38 Production of Maize Transgenic Lines with Pre-Integrated Cas9for Transient Delivery of Guide RNA

This example describes the rationale, production, and testing of maizetransgenic lines with an integrated Cas9 gene under constitutive andtemperature inducible promoters.

As demonstrated in Example 2, a high mutation frequency was observedwhen Cas9 endonuclease and guide RNA were delivered as DNA vectors bybiolistic transformation to immature corn embryo cells. When Cas9endonuclease was delivered as a DNA vector and guide RNA as RNAmolecules, a reduced mutation frequency was observed (Table 44).

TABLE 44 Mutant reads at LigCas-3 target site produced by transientlydelivered guide RNA. Target Site Examined for Transient ExpressionMutant Total Mutations Delivery Cassette Reads Reads LIGCas-3 — Cas924.2 1,599,492 LIGCas-3 — Cas9/guide 44170 1,674,825 RNA LIGCas-3 35 ngguide RNA Cas9 418 1,622,180 LIGCas-3 70 ng guide RNA Cas9 667 1,791,388LIGCas-3 140 ng guide Cas9 239 1,632,137 RNA

Increased efficiency (increased mutant reads) may occur when the Cas9protein and guide RNA are present in the cell at the same time. Tofacilitate the presence of both Cas9 endonuclease and guide RNA in thesame cell, a vector containing a constitutive and conditionallyregulated Cas9 gene can be first delivered to plant cells to allow forstable integration into the plant genome to establish a plant line thatcontains only the Cas9 gene in the plant genome. Then, single ormultiple guide RNAs can be delivered as either DNA or RNA, orcombination, to the embryo cells of the plant line containing thegenome-integrated version of the Cas9 gene.

Transgenic maize (genotype Hi-II) lines with an integrated Cas9 genedriven by either a constitutive (Ubi) or an inducible (CAS) promoterwere generated via Agrobacterium-mediated transformation. Besides theCas9 gene, the Agro vector also contained a visible marker (END2:Cyan)and a Red Fluorescent Protein sequence interrupted with a 318 bp longlinker (H2B:RF-FP). The linker sequence was flanked with 370 bp longdirect repeats to promote recombination and restoration of a functionalRFP gene sequence upon double strand break within the linker.

Lines with single copies of the transgene were identified and used forfurther experiments. Two guide RNA constructs targeting 2 differentsites (Table 45 in the linker sequence, were delivered into immatureembryo cells via particle bombardment. Meganuclease variant LIG3-4 B65with very high cutting activity previously used in similar experimentswas used as the positive control.

TABLE 45Target sites in the RF-FP linker for guideRNA/Cas endonuclease system.SEQ Guide RNA Target Site PAM ID Locus Used DesignationTarget Site Sequence Sequence NO: RF- Long RF-FPCas-1 GCAGGTCTCACGACGGTTGG 535 FP Long RF-FPCas-2 GTAAAGTACGCGTACGTG AGG 536 linker TG

After transformation, embryos with Cas9 gene under Ubiquitin promoterwere incubated at 28° C. while embryos with Cas9 gene under temperatureinducible CAS promoter were first incubated at 37° C. for 15-20 hoursand then transferred to 28° C. Embryos were examined 3-5 days afterbombardment under luminescent microscope. Expression and activity of thepre-integrated Cas9 protein was visually evaluated based on the numberof embryo cells with RFP protein expression. In most lines, the guideRNA/Cas endonuclease system demonstrated similar or higher frequency ofRFP repair than LIG3-4 B65 meganuclease indicating high level of Cas9protein expression and activity in the generated transgenic lines.

This example describes the production of transgenic lines with apre-integrated Cas9 gene that can be used in further experiments toevaluate efficiency of mutagenesis at a target site upon transientdelivery of guide RNA in the form of RNA molecules.

Example 39 The Guide RNA/Cas Endonuclease System Delivers Double-StrandBreaks to the Maize ALS Locus and Facilitates Editing of the ALS Gene

This example demonstrates that the guide RNA/Cas endonuclease system canbe efficiently used to introduce specific changes into the nucleotidesequence of the maize ALS gene resulting in resistance to sulfonylureaclass herbicides, specifically, chlorsulfuron.

Endogenous ALS protein is the target site of ALS inhibitor sulfonylureaclass herbicides. Expression of the herbicide tolerant version of ALSprotein in crops confers tolerance to this class of herbicides. The ALSprotein contains N-terminal transit peptides, and the mature protein isformed following transport into the chloroplast and subsequent cleavageof the transit peptide. The mature protein starts at residue S41,resulting in a mature protein of 598 amino acids with a predictedmolecular weight of 65 kDa (SEQ ID NO: 550).

TABLE 46 Deduced Amino Acid Sequence of the Full-Length ZM-ALS Protein(SEQ ID no: 550   1MATAAAASTA LTGATTAAPK ARRRAHLLAT RRALAAPIRC SAASPAMPMA  51PPATPLRPWG PTEPRKGADI LVESLERCGV RDVFAYPGGA SMEIHQALTR 101SPVIANHLFR HEQGEAFAAS GYARSSGRVG VCIATSGPGA TNLVSALADA 151LLDSVPMVAI TGQVPRRMIG TDAFQETPIV EVTRSITKHN YLVLDVDDIP 201RVVQEAFFLA SSGRPGPVLV DIPKDIQQQM AVPVWDKPMS LPGYIARLPK 251PPATELLEQV LRLVGESRRP VLYVGGGCAA SGEELRRFVE LTGIPVTTTL 301MGLGNFPSDD PLSLRMLGMH GTVYANYAVD KADLLLALGV RFDDRVTGKI 351EAFASRAKIV HVDIDPAEIG KNKQPHVSIC ADVKLALQGM NALLEGSTSK 401KSFDFGSWND ELDQQKREFP LGYKTSNEEI QPQYAIQVLD ELTKGEAIIG 451TGVGQHQMWA AQYYTYKRPR QWLSSAGLGA MGFGLPAAAG ASVANPGVTV 501VDIDGDGSFL MNVQELAMIR IENLPVKVFV LNNQHLGMVV QWEDRFYKAN 551RAHTYLGNPE NESEIYPDFV TIAKGFNIPA VRVTKKNEVR AAIKKMLETP 601GPYLLDIIVP HQEHVLPMIP SGGAFKDMIL DGDGRTVY

Modification of a single amino acid residue (P165A or P165S, shown inbold) from the endogenous maize acetoacetate synthase protein providesresistance to herbicides in maize.

There are two ALS genes in maize, ALS1 and ALS2, located on chromosomes5 and 4, respectively. As described in Example 2, guide RNA expressingconstructs for 3 different target sites within the ALS genes weretested. Based on polymorphism between ALS1 and ALS2 nucleotidesequences, ALS1-specific and ALSCas-4 target site were identified andtested. ALSCas-1 guide RNA expressing construct targeting both ALS1 andALS2 genes was used as control (Table 47)

TABLE 47 Maize ALS genomic target sites tested. Guide Target SiteMaize Genomic Site PAM SEQ ID Locus Location RNA DesignationTarget Sequence Sequence NO: ALS Chr.4: Long ALSCas-1 GGTGCCAATCATGC CGG 22 107.73cM GTCG and Long ALSCas-4 GCTGCTCGATTC TGG* 537 Chr.5:CGTCCCCA 115.49cM *Target site in the ALS1 gene; bolded nucleotides aredifferent in the ALS2 gene.

The experiment was conducted and mutation frequency determined asdescribed in Example 2 and results are shown in Table 48.

TABLE 48 Frequencies of NHEJ mutations at the two ALS target sitesrecovered by deep sequencing. TS Total Reads Mutant reads (ALS1) Mutantreads (ALS2) ALSCas-1 204,230 5072 (2.5%) 2704 (1.3%) ALSCas-4 120,7663294 (2.7%)   40 (0.03%)The results demonstrated that ALSCas-4 guide RNA/Cas9 system mutates theALS1 gene with approximately 90 times higher efficiency than the ALS2gene. Therefore, the ALSCas-4 target site and the corresponding guideRNA were selected for the ALS gene editing experiment.

To produce edited events, the ALS polynucleotide modification repairtemplate was co-delivered using particle bombardment as a plasmid withan 804 bp long homologous region (SEQ ID NO: 538) or as asingle-stranded 127 bp DNA fragment (SEQ ID NO: 539), the maizeoptimized Cas9 endonuclease expression vector described in Example 1,the guide RNA expression cassette (targeting ALSCas-4 site), amoPAT-DsRed fusion as selectable and visible markers, and developmentalgenes (ODP-2 and WUS). Approximately 1000 Hi-II immature embryos werebombarded with each of the two repair templates described above.

Forty days after bombardment, 600 young callus events (300 for eachrepair template) were collected and transferred to the media withbialaphos selection. The embryos with remaining events were transferredto the media with 100 ppm of chlorsulfuron for selection. A month later,events that continued growing under chlorsulfuron selection werecollected and used for analysis.

A small amount of callus tissue from each selected event was used fortotal DNA extraction. A pair of genomic primers outside the repair/donorDNA fragment (SEQ ID NO:540 and SEQ ID NO:541) was used to amplify anendogenous fragment of the ALS1 locus containing the ALSCas4 targetsequence. The PCR amplification products were gel purified, cloned intothe pCR2.1 TOPO cloning vector (Invitrogen) and sequenced. A total of 6events demonstrated the presence of the specifically edited ALS1 alleleas well as either a wild type or a mutagenized second allele.

These data indicate that a guide RNA/Cas system can be successfully usedto create edited ALS allele in maize. The data further demonstrates thatthe guide RNA/maize optimized Cas endonuclease system described herein,can be used to produce progeny plants containing gene edits that arestably inherited.

Example 40 Gene Editing of the Soybean ALS1 Gene and Use as aTransformation Selectable Marker for Soybean Transformation with theGuide RNA/Cas Endonuclease System

A. guideRNA/Cas9 Endonuclease Target Site Design on the Soybean ALS1Gene.

There are four ALS genes in soybean (Glyma04g37270, Glyma06g17790,Glyma13g31470 and Glyma15g07860). Two guideRNA/Cas9 endonuclease targetsites (soy ALS1-CR1 and soy ALS1-CR2) were designed near the Proline 178of the soybean ALS1 gene Glyma04g37270 (Table 49).

TABLE 49 Guide RNA/Cas9 endonuclease target sites on soybean ALS1 geneCas endonuclease Name of gRNA-Cas9 target endonuclease sequence targetsite (SEQ ID NO:) Physical location soy ALS1-CR1 542 Gm04: 43645633 . .. 43645612 soy ALS1-CR2 543 Gm04: 43645594 . . . 43645615B. Guide-RNA Expression Cassettes, Cas9 Endonuclease ExpressionCassettes, Polynucleotide Modification Templates for Introduction ofSpecific Amino Acid Changes and use the P178S Modified ALS1 Allele as aSoybean Transformation Selectable Marker

The soybean U6 small nuclear RNA promoter, GM-U6-13.1 (SEQ ID. NO: 469),was used to express guide RNAs to direct Cas9 nuclease to designatedgenomic target sites (Table 50). A soybean codon optimized Cas9endonuclease (SEQ ID NO:489) expression cassette and a guide RNAexpression cassette were linked in a first plasmid that was co-deliveredwith a polynucleotide modification template. The polynucleotidemodification template contained specific nucleotide changes that encodedfor amino acid changes in the soy ALS1 polypeptide (Glyma04g37270), suchas the P178S. Other amino acid changes in the ALS1 polypeptide can alsobe obtained using the guide RNA/Cas endonuclease system describedherein. Specific amino acid modifications can be achieved by homologousrecombination between the genomic DNA and the polynucleotidemodification template facilitated by the guideRNA/Cas endonucleasesystem.

TABLE 50 Guide RNA/Cas9 expression cassettes and polynucleotidemodification templates used in soybean stable transformation for thespecific amino acid modifications of the soy ALS1 gene. SEQpolynucleotide SEQ Guide RNA/Cas9 ID modification ID Experiment (plasmidname) NO: template NO: soy ALS1-CR1 U6-13.1:ALS1-CR1 + 544 RTW1026A 546EF1A2:CAS9 (QC880) soy ALS-CR2 U6-13.1:ALS1-CR2 + 545 RTW1026A 546EF1A2:CAS9 (QC881)C. Detection of the P178S Mutation in the Soybean ALS1 Gene in the EventSelected by Chlorsulfuron

In order to edit specific amino acids at the native ALS1 gene (such asthe P178S modification), a polynucleotide modification template such asRTW1026A (Table 50), was co-delivered with the guideRNA/Cas9 expressioncassettes into soybean cells. Chlorsulfuron (100 ppb) was used to selectthe P178S ALS1 gene editing events in soybean transformation process.

The modification of the native ALS1 gene via guide RNA/Cas9 systemmediated DNA homologous recombination was determined by specific PCRanalysis. A specific PCR assay with primer pair WOL900 (SEQ ID NO: 547)and WOL578 (SEQ ID NO: 548) was used to detect perfect P178Smodification at the native ALS1 gene. A second primer pair WOL573 (SEQID NO: 549) and WOL578 (SEQ ID NO: 548) was used to amplify both a P178Smodified Soy ALS1 allele and a NHEJ mutated allele. A chlorsulfurontolerant event (MSE3772-18) was generated from the soy ALS1-CR2experiment. The event contained a perfect P178S modified allele and a2^(nd) allele with a 5bp deletion at the soyALS1-CR2 cleavage site. Topocloning/sequencing was used to verify the sequences. Our resultsdemonstrated one P178S modified ALS1 allele is sufficient to providechlorsulfuron selection in soybean transformation process.

What is claimed is:
 1. A recombinant DNA construct comprising a promoternucleotide sequence comprising a region of homology of at least 98%sequence identity with SEQ ID NO: 9, operably linked to at least oneheterologous sequence, wherein said nucleotide sequence drivesconstitutive expression of the heterologous sequence.
 2. The recombinantDNA construct of claim 1, wherein the nucleotide sequence comprises afragment of at least 98% sequence identity, based on the Clustal Vmethod of alignment with pairwise alignment default parameters KTUPLE=2,GAP PENALTY=5, WINDOW=4 and DIAGONALS SAVED=4, to the sequence set forthin SEQ NO:9.
 3. A vector comprising the recombinant DNA construct ofclaim
 1. 4. A cell comprising the recombinant DNA construct of claim 1.5. The cell of claim 4, wherein the cell is a plant cell.
 6. Atransgenic plant comprising the recombinant DNA construct of claim
 1. 7.The transgenic plant of claim 6, wherein said plant is a monocot plant.8. The transgenic plant of claim 7, wherein the plant is a maize plant.9. A transgenic seed produced by the transgenic plant of claim 7,wherein the transgenic seed comprises the recombinant DNA construct. 10.The recombinant DNA construct of claim 1, wherein the at least oneheterologous sequence is selected from the group consisting of: areporter coding sequence, a selection marker, a functional RNA, adisease resistance conferring coding sequence, a herbicide resistanceconferring coding sequence, an insect resistance conferring codingsequence, a carbohydrate metabolism coding sequence, a fatty acidmetabolism coding sequence, an amino acid metabolism coding sequence, adrought resistance coding sequence, a cold resistance coding sequence, aheat resistance coding sequence, and a salt resistance coding sequence.11. The recombinant DNA construct of claim 1, wherein the at least oneheterologous sequence encodes a sequence selected from the groupconsisting of: a reporter protein, a selection marker, a functional RNA,a protein conferring disease resistance, a protein conferring herbicideresistance, a protein conferring insect resistance, a carbohydratemetabolism protein, a fatty acid metabolism protein, an amino acidmetabolism protein, a drought resistance protein, a cold resistanceprotein, a heat resistance protein, and a salt resistance protein.
 12. Amethod of expressing a coding sequence or a functional RNA in a plantcomprising: (a) introducing the recombinant DNA construct of claim 1into the plant, wherein the at least one heterologous sequence comprisesa coding sequence or encodes a functional RNA; (b) growing the plant ofstep (a); and (c) selecting a plant displaying expression of the codingsequence or the functional RNA of the recombinant DNA construct.
 13. Amethod of transgenically altering a plant trait, comprising: (a)introducing the recombinant DNA construct of claim 1 into the plant; (b)growing a fertile, mature plant resulting from step (a); and (c)selecting a plant expressing the at least one heterologous sequence inat least one plant tissue having the altered trait.
 14. The method ofclaim 13, wherein the trait is selected from the group consisting ofdisease resistance, herbicide resistance, insect resistance,carbohydrate metabolism, fatty acid metabolism, amino acid metabolism,plant development, drought resistance, cold resistance, heat resistance,and salt resistance.
 15. A method for increasing expression of at leastone heterologous sequence in a plant comprising: (a) transforming aplant cell with the recombinant DNA construct of claim 1; (b) growingfertile mature plants from transformed plant cell of step (a); and (c)selecting plants containing the transformed plant cell wherein theexpression of the heterologous sequence is increased.
 16. The method ofclaim 15 wherein the plant is a maize plant.
 17. A recombinant DNAconstruct comprising a promoter and a heterologous nucleic acid fragmentoperably linked to said promoter, wherein said promoter drivesexpression of said heterologous nucleic acid fragment in a plant cell,wherein said promoter comprises a nucleotide sequence comprising atleast 200 contiguous nucleotides with SEQ ID NO: 9, and wherein thenucleotide sequence comprises a TATA box.
 18. A recombinant DNAconstruct comprising a promoter comprising a nucleotide sequencecomprising at least contiguous 200 nucleotides with SEQ ID NO: 9,wherein said promoter is operably linked to a heterologous nucleic acidfragment, wherein said heterologous nucleic acid fragment expresses aguide RNA, and wherein the nucleotide sequence comprises a TATA box.